THE Department of Public Safety’s Criminal Investigation Bureau will seek the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s laboratory assistance in examining an “incomplete set of bones” found in a Marpi cave by hikers on July 7, 2024.
Assistant Chief of Police Simon Manacop, the acting DPS public information officer, on Wednesday said, “On July 8-9, 2024, detectives and crime scene technicians from CIB and personnel from the Historic Preservation Office conducted an additional probe of the two caves in Marpi that were reported [to be] containing human skeletal remains.”
According to Manacop, “An examination of the skeletal remains was done by an archeologist/osteologist from HPO.”
He said “two sets of skeletal remains…were identified [as] consistent from WW2. These remains were placed back in the caves as recommended by HPO.”
As for the incomplete set of bones collected from one of the caves, “initial examinations indicate that the bones were not consistent with being from WW2 era, and that [they were] approximately 20 years old. It was noted that it would be difficult to determine whether the remains collected were from one or more individuals. Characteristics of the skeletal remains such as age or gender are undetermined and would require laboratory examinations,” Manacop said.
“CIB will be reaching out to the FBI for laboratory assistance,” he added.
