Greene Co. releases photos of clothing from female skeletal remains

UPDATE @ 3:07 p.m. (July 14)

The Greene County Sheriff’s Office said the woman found dead in a wooded area in Spring Valley Twp. had evidence she may have been a mother, according to information the department was relayed by the anthropologist who examined the remains.

UPDATE @ 2:45 p.m. (July 14):

The Greene County Sheriff’s Office will hold a press conference this afternoon at 3 p.m. to discuss the human remains found in Spring Valley Twp. earlier this year.

UPDATE @ 10:30 a.m. (July 14):

The Greene County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s assistance in helping to identify the human remains found earlier this year south of Xenia.

A DNA sample of the victim was obtained and compared against databases of known persons. The comparison resulted in no matches.

On Thursday, the Sheriff’s Office released photos of clothing the victim was wearing.

The woman’s remains were discovered on May 1, and may have been exposed to the elements for a period of at least three months, but no more than a year, according to the forensic anthropologist.

Details include: female Caucasian; 25 to 50 years old; 5-foot-5 to 5-foot-10; white tank top; white bra; and black pants with a pink stripe up the leg, with a pink heart on the left thigh area that says, “Babe.”

If anyone has any information, call Det. Kyle Metz at 937-562-4810 or if you want to remain anonymous, the tip line is 937-562-4819 or an anonymous tip may be left through the Mobile Patrol app, which can be downloaded free to any smart phone user.

UPDATE @ 2:14 p.m. (May 3):

Middletown police said they are investigating whether the recently found bones in Spring Valley Twp. are those of Lindsay Bogan, the 30-year-old mother who disappeared last fall.

“We are aware that Greene County has uncovered some human remains and we are looking into the possibility they are Lindsay Bogan,” Middletown Maj. Mark Hoffman told this news outlet today.

Bogan's case is considered a homicide and as early as March Middletown detectives were following up on information that may point to boyfriend Eric Sexton and his family.

UPDATE@2:05 p.m. (May 2): Officials have determined the bones are that of a female, Greene County Sheriff Gene Fischer told WHIO reporter Andy Sedlak this afternoon.

Fischer said it’s early in the process, so it’s not clear at this time how long the bones had been in the area or the age of the victim.

“We still have BCI agents and detectives on the scene with cadaver dogs looking for additional bones, because everything we can get may lead us to the identity of the female and if it’s a homicide maybe a suspect,” Fischer said, adding that the hones were found about 50 feet from Elam Road.

UPDATE@11:20 a.m. (May 2):

The Greene County Sheriff’s Office expects to have more information this afternoon on the gender, race and other identifiers that will help determine the identity of the remains found in Spring Valley Township on Sunday, officials said Monday.

Sheriff Gene Fischer said he believes the remains found are human, but he is waiting on confirmation from the Miami Valley Crime Lab in Dayton.

“They will be able to hopefully examine the bones for any kind of evidence that may be evidence of the cause of death,” so we have something to work with,” he said.

A group hunting for mushrooms discovered the remains in a wooded area around 4 p.m. about 50 feet off Elam Road, and about one mile north of Spring Valley-Paintersville Road, according to the sheriff.

The county sheriff’s office, coroner’s office and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation were on scene Sunday.

“I had BCI there looking for any kind of evidence in case they do determine that we have a crime,” Fischer said. “When you have bones like this, you investigate it as a homicide because you just don’t know.”

UPDATE @ 10:50 p.m.:

Elam Road was blocked to traffic from Spring Valley Paintersville Road to Richland Road all evening after mushroom hunters found skeletal remains.

“These bones will be seen by a forensic anthropologist to determine if they are human, male, female, how long they’ve been here,” said Sgt. Beth Prall of the Greene County Sheriff’s Office.

The sergeant said she wasn’t sure how much longer investigators would remain on scene after the bones were reported around 4 p.m.

UPDATE @ 8:45 p.m.:

Skeletal remains were found today by a group of men mushroom hunting in a wooded area east of Spring Valley, Greene County Sheriff Gene Fischer said.

The remains were found around 4 p.m. about 50 feet off Elam Road, and about one mile north of Spring Valley-Paintersville Road, the sheriff said.

Investigators tonight said they weren’t able to confirm the remains are human, and said they don’t know whether the remains belong to a male or female. It’s also not clear how long they’ve been there.

The sheriff’s office, coroner’s office and the state Bureau of Criminal Investigation were on scene.

FIRST REPORT (May 1)

Yellow crime scene tape was up this afternoon, marking off a wooded area outside of Spring Valley.

The Greene County Sheriff’s Office confirmed an investigation was underway along Elam Road, off Spring Valley Paintersville Road, but would not say what was under investigation or what led deputies to that section of the township.

One area resident said there were muliple crime scene vehicles, and that deputies had been at the scene most of the afternoon.

We are working to learn more about the investigation and will update this report as we learn details.