CLERMONT COUNTY — A pile of human remains found in the woods in Ohio last month has been identified.
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The Clermont County Sheriff’s Office collected the bones and sent them to the Hamilton County Coroner’s Office for examination, according to a spokesperson.
With the assistance of the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), DNA was extracted from the remains and identified as Roger Bruce, 51.
As previously reported by News Center 7, a person found the remains in the woods on April 20 while searching for mushrooms.
The caller told dispatchers he discovered bones “which appear human.”
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During the investigation, Zachary Scott was the last known person to see Bruce.
Scott called 911 in January 2022. He reported that Bruce was unresponsive in a vehicle and claimed Bruce had overdosed on drugs, the sheriff’s office said.
Scott said he administered Narcan and disconnected the call. When he called back, he claimed Bruce drove away after regaining consciousness.
Detectives searched but did not find either Bruce or Scott. When they interviewed Scott a day later, they stated he had changed his story, the sheriff’s office reported.
A grand jury indicted Scott in September 2022 on several felonies, including one count of involuntary manslaughter, gross abuse of a corpse, corrupting another with drugs, and tampering with evidence.
Scott pleaded guilty to charges of tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse. A Clermont County judge sentenced him to five years in prison.
Bruce was reported missing in 2022 by the Brown County Sheriff’s Office.
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