Sorry for the length - pertinent parts bolded.
Alvin Sun Newspaper Archives
April 07, 1981 Page 1
The identification of skeletal remains of two Dickinson girls discovered south of Alvin has prompted Brazoria County Sheriff’s Department investigators to reopen similar missing persons cases from this area.
As many as nine bodies were discovered in Brazoria County between 1971 and 1975 and as many as 21 girls reported missing in Harris, Galveston and Brazoria counties in 1971 and 1972, Lt. Matt Wingo, sheriff’s investigator heading the case, said. Authorities will try to determine if the new evidence will suggest a connection among any of those cases, Wingo said.
Wingo is planning to lead a search for more bones belonging to what is believed to be a young female found off FM 2004 near the Liverpool cutoff in November 1980 and a young male found about a mile and a half west of Manvel north of Highway 6 in late 1979.
Although he has no real evidence to suggest a link, Wingo sees similarities in the cases. The bodies were all found in isolated brushy areas near water, and the victims had similarities in physical features, such as facial features and hair color. He said he didn’t know when the search in those two areas would begin.
The investigators will not resume a search in the area where the bones of the Dickinson girls were found because that area was thoroughly searched last month, he said. Wingo said authorities now have no evidence to indicate a “mass murderer" may be involved in the deaths, despite some statements in recent news reports. “We have thoughts, but not the evidence," he said.
Now investigators are going to concentrate on finding further clues that may establish a link, he said. Such an investigation could take “a couple of years," he added.
Chief investigator for the Harris County Medical Examiner’s office, Cecil Wingo, said Dr. Joseph Jachimczyk identified the remains found off CR 169 as 14-year-old Georgia Geer and 12-year-old Brooks Bracewell, both of Dickinson. The girls died of “blunt trauma to the head,” or being struck in the head by a blunt object, Wingo explained.
The “most important" of the skeletal parts turned over the the medical examiner's office by the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Department was the right section of a lower jaw, Wingo said. This allowed for positive identification of Geer. “Presumptive identification” was made on Bracewell based on physical stature comparison and dental age and skeletal age, which are determined by the chronological development of the teeth and bones.
Lt. Wingo explained that this error was probably caused because Geer had some masculine characteristics at the age of her death leading medical examiners to believe some of the remains belonged to a male. Moderately spaced and moderately protruding teeth and two dental fillings were used in identifying Bracewell.
A major portion of a yellow garment found in the search lead investigarors to further believe the second girl was Bracewell. The original search was suspended when authorities were unable to make positive identification on the bones found in 1976. Forensic odontologist Dr. Paul Stimson, who is an expert in dental identification according to Wingo, assisted in identifying the teeth found in an area southeast of Alvin. The report was modified about a year ago. when the medical examiner's office said the remains might in fact belong to three females. This information renewed Fort Worth investigators’ interest, as well as that of Brazoria County Sheriff Joe King.
Alvin Sun Newspaper Archives, Apr 7, 1981, p. 1
