Remains of 55 bodies found near former Florida reform school

[Janelle2002 3,865]

Remains of 55 bodies found near former Florida reform school

By Bill Cotterell

4 hours ago

By Bill Cotterell

TALLAHASSEE (Reuters) - Excavations at a makeshift graveyard near a now-closed reform school in the Florida Panhandle have yielded remains of 55 bodies, almost twice the number official records say are there, the University of South Florida announced on Tuesday.

"This is precisely why excavation was necessary," said USF professor Erin Kimmerle, head of the research project. "The only way to truly establish the facts about the deaths and burials at the school is to follow scientific processes."

On a hillside in the rolling, tall-pine forests near the Alabama-Georgia border, a team of more than 50 searchers from nine agencies last year dug up the graves to check out local legends and family tales of boys, mostly black, who died or disappeared without explanation from the Dozier School for Boys early in the last century.

The school, infamous for accounts of brutality told by former inmates, was closed by the state in 2011.

The University of South Florida was commissioned to look into deaths at the school in the Panhandle city of Marianna, after the Florida Department of Law Enforcement announced the presence of 31 official grave sites in 2010.

Excavation began last September with bones, teeth and several artifacts from grave sites sent to the University of North Texas Science Center for DNA testing.

Members of 11 families who lost boys at Dozier have been located by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office for DNA sampling and researchers hope to find 42 more families for possible matching.

State investigators initially located 31 suspected graves in the woods across a busy highway from the shuttered reform school. Kimmerle's more detailed probes raised the number to 50 or 51 last year, and USF announced on Tuesday the searchers had found remains of 55 bodies.

"Locating 55 burials is a significant finding, which opens up a whole new set of questions for our team," said Kimmerle.

"All of the analyses needed to answer these important questions are yet to be done, but it is our intention to answer as many of these questions as possible."

Research will continue in areas adjacent to the graveyard, dubbed "boot hill" by school officials and inmates a century ago.

Greg Ridgeway, acting director of the National Institute of Justice, praised Kimmerle's work. He said the discoveries made by the USF team "will not only bring resolution to these cases but will add to our knowledge about investigations of missing and unidentified persons in jurisdictions throughout the country."

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Yeah, that story. Shameful. For those with a conscience. Those without one will tell you that this no big deal.

[DavenRoxy 1,073]

Yeah, that story. Shameful. For those with a conscience. Those without one will tell you that this no big deal.

What?!? No berating because the story is more than a week old?

Okay, so the question remains: Why pass this old hat off as news?

Edited January 29, 2014 by DavenRoxy

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

Yeah, that story. Shameful. For those with a conscience. Those without one will tell you that this no big deal.

These deaths happened some time ago Totally not allowed under your new rules

[JohnR! 5,495]

Yeah, that story. Shameful. For those with a conscience. Those without one will tell you that this no big deal.

It did not take much too long... Quite Pavlovian. Edited January 29, 2014 by Gegel

[Janelle2002 3,865]

What?!? No berating because the story is more than a week old?

They are still making new discoveries and finding more bodies than what they were supposed to find. I believe this is news worthy.

These deaths happened some time ago Totally not allowed under your new rules

Just because this happened a long time ago does not mean they are not news worthy.

This is a cold case like many other cold cases.

Boy, your sympathy level is below freezing.

Yeah, that story. Shameful. For those with a conscience. Those without one will tell you that this no big deal.

Without conscience, hmmmmmm I can name a few.

[DavenRoxy 1,073]

They are still making new discoveries and finding more bodies than what they were supposed to find. I believe this is news worthy.

Just because this happened a long time ago does not mean they are not news worthy.

Your story is absolutely worth talking about. See the thread about the heroin kingpin and you'll understand the travesty of hypocrisy.

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

They are still making new discoveries and finding more bodies than what they were supposed to find. I believe this is news worthy.

Just because this happened a long time ago does not mean they are not news worthy.

This is a cold case like many other cold cases.

Boy, your sympathy level is below freezing.

Without conscience, hmmmmmm I can name a few.

Janelle, their comments aren't aimed at you. They're ribbing MBD since he busted their chops about posting a story that was over 2 and a half years old and being passed off as current events.

[Janelle2002 3,865]

Your story is absolutely worth talking about. See the thread about the heroin kingpin and you'll understand the travesty of hypocrisy.

Yea, that thread was horrendous. I stopped reading it.

Janelle, their comments aren't aimed at you. They're ribbing MBD since he busted their chops about posting a story that was over 2 and a half years old and being passed off as current events.

Yea I know. I just really feel sorry for these kids. Can you imagine how frightened they must have been. So freaking sad.

[DavenRoxy 1,073]

I'm amazed it took this long to investigate so many "mysterious disappearances". Should have happened long ago.

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

Yea, that thread was horrendous. I stopped reading it.

Yea I know. I just really feel sorry for these kids. Can you imagine how frightened they must have been. So freaking sad.

No I can't. For some things, there just aren't words to describe it.

[Janelle2002 3,865]

I'm amazed it took this long to investigate so many "mysterious disappearances". Should have happened long ago.

I wonder who pushed for the investigation. You know someone had to fight to get it started. I'm sure they didn't do this because they wanted to. I feel sorry for the workers too. I couldn't imagine digging up bodies of kids.

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

They are still making new discoveries and finding more bodies than what they were supposed to find. I believe this is news worthy.

Just because this happened a long time ago does not mean they are not news worthy.

This is a cold case like many other cold cases.

Boy, your sympathy level is below freezing.

Without conscience, hmmmmmm I can name a few.

Of course I care..However there is a new standard. If a story is over 2 years old it's not news worthy anymore. Not my rules mind you..

I personally think this story is horrendous. .I am far from callous.