MAYVILLE, N.Y. — In a press conference Thursday morning, the Chautauqua County Sheriff's Office gave an update regarding the investigation into two sets of human remains that were found in the Town of Portland last week.
The remains of two bodies were found in late September, days apart, and just 10 yards from each other in the Rails-to-Trails area off Woleben Road.
The sheriff's office identified the second body as Marquita Mull, 50, from Buffalo. She was identified using dental and medical records. The sheriff's office says she was last seen on June 25 in the Broadway-Fillmore area of Buffalo and was reported missing on July 18.
Chautauqua County Sheriff James Quattrone said Mull's remains appeared to have been there for several months and were "fairly along in decomposition." The sheriff went on to say there was "no attempt at burial," but the remains were still tough to spot.
"The area was overgrown with different weeds and brush," Quattrone said. "If you were walking down the trail and glancing over you likely wouldn’t have seen it. Officers were there for almost two and a half hours and within 10 yards and didn’t see her body."
According to the sheriff's office, Mull has no known connection to Chautauqua County. Deputies believe someone brought her to that location; however, the sheriff's office also notes that there is no evidence that Mull was killed at the scene.
"I personally don't believe she was killed at that trail - we have no evidence of that at this point. So we are going to continue to investigate that to find the location where she was killed," Quattrone said. Investigators are awaiting more forensic information to determine an exact cause of death.
As for the first set of remains found, the identity is still unknown at this time. According to the sheriff's office, the skeletal remains were estimated to be in the ground for decades. They were intact and were buried about six inches deep.
Forensic specialists at Mercyhurst University are still working to identify the remains. Deputies have used dental records of missing people in Chautauqua County to rule out potential matches. At this time, the set of human remains have been ruled out as Corrie Anderson and Lori Bova.
The sheriff's office says it is looking into sending a portion of the skeleton to the New York State Crime Lab to do DNA testing and do some comparisons for other missing persons cases in Western New York. A potential identification could take four to six weeks.
Investigators are also trying to obtain Patricia Laemmerhirt’s medical and dental records to see if the remains are hers. Laemmerhirt was a 28-year-old who disappeared in 1976.
DNA from the remains will also be compared to information from two national DNA databases to see who those remains might belong to.