Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Human skull found in Veguita

Sheriff's deputies are asking for help in identifying the 10-year-old remains

Audry Olmsted El Defensor Chieftain Managing Editor

Socorro County Sheriff's deputies are asking for help in identifying a partial human skull that was found earlier this year in Veguita, and reported to them over the weekend.

Deputy Adrian Tapia said Ruben Moreno, of Veguita, was bike-riding near the Rio Grande River in January and saw the skull sticking up out of the sand.

The deputy said Moreno put the skull in the stump of a tree at the location to keep it safe.

Unfortunately, Moreno then forgot about the skull, Tapia said, and remembered it only recently.

On Sunday, Moreno got in touch with Tapia, who was at the Veguita Post Office and told him about what he had found.

The deputy along with fellow deputy Dave Marquez, retrieved the skull, but, because of rising river water, they could not get any closer than 30 feet from where the skull was originally found.

The skull was found on the east side of the ditch bank, 4.7 miles north of U.S. 60.

Medical Investigator Keith Bailey said it appears the skull is 10 years old and that it likely belonged to someone who was a teenager at the time of their death.

The skull has been taken to the Medical Examiner's Office in Albuquerque in the hope that DNA can be retrieved to help in identification.

Chief Deputy Preciliano "Shorty" Vaiza said it is possible that the skull was carried downstream on the Rio Grande. He said at this time, the area where the partial skull was found is not being treated as a crime scene.

Because water is now covering the area where the skull was found, Vaiza said there is little further investigation they can do until they get more information from the Office of the Medical Examiner.

Vaiza asked that anyone who has been missing a loved one for the past 10 years, or might have any information about the partial skull, to call the Socorro County Sheriff's Department at 575-835-0941.

aolmsted@dchieftain.com

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