FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – The Fresno State Forensic Anthropology Institute was able to help unravel the mystery behind a bag of bones found in Kings County.

Deputies said the case was unlike what investigators were accustomed to because the bones likely belonged to Native Americans who lived in the area hundreds of years ago.

Dr. Chelsea Juarez, a Fresno State forensic anthropologist, helped the Kings County Sheriff’s Office estimate the age and ancestry of bones found in a bag along a country road.

“I’m really proud to be doing this work for the community,” said Dr. Juarez. “It’s important not only to do proactive casework, but also to think holistically of all people in the Central Valley and leave no one behind.”

After a dairy farmer found a bag of bones, officials sent a photo of the skeletal remains to Dr. Juarez, who confirmed that the remains were historical Indigenous/Native American remains, and that they were guilty of crimes. determined that it was irrelevant.

Dr. Juarez also helped solve another case in 2020 in collaboration with the Madera County Sheriff’s Office, which resulted in a DNA test and the discovery of the remains on May 1, according to Fresno state officials. It was returned to his family.

On May 1, Madera County Sheriff’s Detectives and Forensic Experts returned the body of 29-year-old Navajo woman Christine Lester to her family in the Navajo Nation, Arizona. Lester was positively identified by new forensic anthropology techniques and her DNA technology in collaboration with the Fresno State Forensic Institute and Sheriff’s Office.

Officials said Lester was one of several unidentified bodies buried in a Madera County cemetery after being murdered in 1987. Her body and another were exhumed in hopes of identifying her remains.

Ms. Lester was one of many Native American women, girls, and spirits who have gone missing or been found murdered across the United States, Juarez said.

“The Fresno State Forensic Anthropology Institute, along with our partners, is committed to working collaboratively with Native Americans, Indigenous communities, and all those with missing family members,” Juarez said. rice field. “We will treat people in custody with love, respect and cultural sensitivity, and we will do everything possible to identify and reunite people in custody wherever possible. I promise to