Investigators, Anthropologists Working To ID Body Found Last Weekend
WAXAHACHIE (CBS11) - A disturbing discovery by hunters over the weekend has turned into a homicide investigation.
Investigators are working with anthropologists at the University of North Texas to learn more about the victim, but they tell CBS11 they need to know who she is before the real investigation can begin.
Deputies sent the human remains to a lab at the University of North Texas where they were identified as those of an African-American female between the ages of 16 and 22, 5'6" to six feet tall, with a muscular, medium build.
"She was found wearing a Pilot Point Bearcat booster club T-shirt," said Sgt. Joe Fitzgerald with the Ellis County Sheriff's Office.
Ellis County deputies shared photos of a similar T-shirt. They say roughly a thousand of them were given to the public.
"We've learned that the Pilot Point Independent School District cheerleaders threw those T-shirts to the stands during the 2016 - 2017 football, basketball, baseball season," Fitzgerald said.
UNT anthropologists have concluded the victim's death was a result of homicide. While investigators aren't commenting on specific high-profile cases of missing persons, they are working with surrounding agencies to rule out victims one by one.
"There are cases that have come up of missing persons from the Pilot Point area that we were able to do comparisons on dental records, and those persons have been eliminated," Fitzgerald said.
Investigators believe the victim had been at the site where hunters found her for anywhere from two weeks to six months.
