Human Skull Found Near Poplar

According to Roosevelt County Undersheriff John Summers, a human skull was found in the Missouri River at Ferry Boat Road June 2.

The skull was found by someone who was fishing in the area and local law enforcement agencies were notified. After the skull was recovered, it was sent to the state crime lab for analysis.

The Poplar Volunteer Fire Department was instrumental in locating the remains, which sources indicate may have included an arm bone, pieces of a jawbone and fragments of a lower hip joint.

Family members of several missing men from the area have been contacted. Summers said analysis from the crime lab has been instrumental in identifying local remains in the past. He added that DNA extraction and analysis can take time and indicated that cases involving bones and remains can take years to fully resolve.

Fort Peck Tribes Department of Law and Justice Supervisory Criminal Investigator Ken Trottier is leading the investigation. He could not be reached for comment.