Human remains in Kingston recovered

KINGSTON – Law enforcement officials wrapped up their initial investigation at the site in Kingston where human remains were found last Thursday.

Idaho State Police detectives had been working conjunction with the Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office since the morning of June 7 when work crews with DG&S Company found what they believed to be human remains in a swampy area off of Coeur d’Alene River Road adjacent to the I-90 westbound offramp around 8:30 a.m.

ISP Captain John Kempf reported that the remains were recovered from the scene Friday afternoon after a significant amount of work.

“We had to drain essentially a swamp, dam it up and slowly but surely dig around this thing to try do the best we can to bring it out as a whole piece.”

Because of the environment, crews were forced to take an amount of earth and other natural debris with the remains following the over 24-hour recovery process. The remains were then transported to the medical examiner’s office in Spokane where an autopsy was conducted. Specifics on how much of a body was recovered and the condition of those remains have not been released as of Monday afternoon, but Kepmf states that “there’s quite a bit there, we were encouraged with the amount of remains we found.”

The results of the autopsy will help detectives answer several questions they have had since they started the investigation.

“The ground was such that we were able to bring it out in one big piece,” Kempf said. “When we get it back to the ME’s office, that’s when we’ll clean it up and see exactly what we have.”

Unknowns that surround the case include who the deceased is, how they died, when they died and how their remains got to the location that they were found in. Detectives could not answer any of these unknowns with what was found at the scene due to several factors including the environment and weather. The autopsy reportedly wrapped up on Monday, but results from it will not be made avalible for some time.

“We’re hoping...we have found something that would point us in the right direction as to who this person was and we’ll take it from there,” Kempf said.

Detectives working the scene were thankful for the assistance they received from the construction crews, as it would not have not been possible to recover the body without their help.

“The construction crew were able to dam up the area and help drain it,” Kempf explained. “If they weren’t there, we would have either had to hire them or bring someone else in.”

The only missing person cold case still active in Shoshone County is that of Montana native Brian Shookman. Shookman was last seen leaving a friend’s house in Kellogg on July 28, 2012. He was supposed to be going to his aunt’s house in Osburn, Idaho later that day; but he never arrived and was never heard from since.

Regardless of who the victim is, Kempf stressed that all the work ahead will be worth it if they can bring some peace to loved ones.

“One of the most important things is to identify who it is,” he said. “It’s going to be interesting. We kinda all love these ‘who done-it’ things and answering questions, especially if it give some family the opportunity for closure.”

SCSO would like to thank the Idaho State Police, The Shoshone County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Shoshone County District 2 Fire and DG&S Company their assistance with this incident.

The Shoshone News-Press will continue to follow this story as it develops.