Identified! IL/IA - Skull in Motorcycle Helmet, Burlington Island, Aug 2018 - Shawn Patrick Berthel

[Gardener1850]

HENDERSON COUNTY, Ill. - An investigation is underway after a human skull was found washed up south of Burlington, Iowa.

Henderson County, Illinois, coroner Kris Beals tells Local 4 News tonight, a logging company found the skull last Thursday on Burlington Island on the Illinois side of the river.

The skull was inside an adult-sized helmet.

Skull found on Burlington Island

The crew was working on Burlington Island, along the Mississippi River and just east of Burlington, Iowa on Thursday, August 30 when they spotted the remains.

The skull was found with a motorcycle style helmet still attached.

No other remains were found.

The skull has now been sent to the Peoria County for DNA testing.

Human skull found in Henderson County

 

[Gardener1850]

It was discovered about 3 p.m. Thursday in an area on the south end of of Burlington Island, about 100 yards east of the western shoreline, that was being logged. Burlington Island is south of its namesake city, near the Alliant Energy power station off Sullivan Slough Road. It lies entirely on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River.

An image posted to Facebook this weekend shows a skull with front teeth missing inside a black helmet. That image has since been taken down. At Beals’ request, and pending potential notification of next of kin, The Hawk Eye has agreed not to publish it at the present time. Additional details also were being withheld, pending notification of next of kin and identification of the remains.

Human skull found in helmet in Henderson County - News - The Register-Mail - Galesburg, IL

 

[creepedout]

Wonder if they can tell how old the helmet is. Fat chance of a connection, but this guy from Council Bluffs (across the state) was last seen in 2006 on his motorcycle, which was also never recovered:

Linn Allen Snyder – The Charley Project

 

[Gardener1850]

Wonder if they can tell how old the helmet is. Fat chance of a connection, but this guy from Council Bluffs (across the state) was last seen in 2006 on his motorcycle, which was also never recovered:

Linn Allen Snyder – The Charley Project

Good find @creepedout
I think anyone missing on a motorcycle is a possibility at this point, especially if they had a black motorcycle helmet....
I hope they have some idea of who it is based on the comment about not releasing any more info "pending notification of next of kin" and identification, but it's hard to tell if they have a solid lead or they are just hoping a DNA match pops up. JMO.

 

[cybervampira]

Another MP from Illinois with a bike. Itasca is quite a distance though.

Missing Person Case

 

[MaryG12]

Wonder if they can tell how old the helmet is. Fat chance of a connection, but this guy from Council Bluffs (across the state) was last seen in 2006 on his motorcycle, which was also never recovered:

Linn Allen Snyder – The Charley Project

Good find! I wonder if he had a medical emergency at the time? Maybe his motorcycle is somewhere at the bottom of the Mississippi River?

 

[tarabull]

Wonder if they can tell how old the helmet is. Fat chance of a connection, but this guy from Council Bluffs (across the state) was last seen in 2006 on his motorcycle, which was also never recovered:

Linn Allen Snyder – The Charley Project

Last seen September 3rd 2006....

Missing Person Case

REALLY great find creepedout!

ETA: Linn's LKL is mapped at NamUs - the UID was found just shy of 300 miles almost directly east fwiw Google Maps

 

[madamx]

Wonder if they can tell how old the helmet is. Fat chance of a connection, but this guy from Council Bluffs (across the state) was last seen in 2006 on his motorcycle, which was also never recovered:

Linn Allen Snyder – The Charley Project

Really good catch! I wonder also if the could tell the age of the helmet. It also if it was a full face helmet or a turtle shell helmet. Usually the guys on Harley's wear turtle shell helmets.

 

[madamx]

Any update on the helmet skull?

 

[Gardener1850]

Any update on the helmet skull?

Henderson County Coroner Kris Beals has identified a human skull found on Burlington Island, on August 30, as 23-year-old Shawn Patrick Berthel of Bellevue, Iowa.

Beals says Berthel died in a snowmobiling accident on the Maquoketa River in Jackson County, Iowa on January 22, 2011.

On September 9, 2013, a snowmobile suit and partial remains were found during a dredging operation on the Mississippi River near Sabula, Iowa.

Human skull found on Illinois island identified

RIP Shawn

 

[cybervampira]

Shawn‘s Facebook:

Shawn Berthel

 

[madamx]

Human skull found on Illinois island identified

RIP Shawn

Thank you Gardner RIP Shawn this is blurb from the article. It's just interested to know where he started and where he ended up years later.


HENDERSON COUNTY, Ill. (WICS/WRSP) — Henderson County Coroner Kris Beals has identified a human skull found on Burlington Island, on August 30, as 23-year-old Shawn Patrick Berthel of Bellevue, Iowa.


Beals says Berthel died in a snowmobiling accident on the Maquoketa River in Jackson County, Iowa on January 22, 2011.


On September 9, 2013, a snowmobile suit and partial remains were found during a dredging operation on the Mississippi River near Sabula, Iowa.