Rings might be clue to body found along tracks

MUNCIE, Ind. — Investigators hope a Bible verse carved into a ring will help identify a body found in rural Delaware County in November 2016.

In the months since Nov. 28, when the mostly-skeletal human remains were found along a railroad track near County Roads 700-West and 300-South, investigators have had a forensic anthropologist in Indianapolis examine the remains and have posted some details on the National Unidentified Persons Database online.

This week, at the request of The Star Press, investigators released photos of two rings found with the remains. The two rings are very distinctive-looking and should be recognizable to someone who knew the person before they died. 

One looks like little more than a rusty, rough band with a star-shaped flower.

The other ring is a smooth but twisting band of metal upon which is inscribed a Bible verse from Philippians 4:6.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God," reads the verse. 

It is a poignant sentiment for a person whose life might have come to an end along a lonely railroad track.

But it isn't the only clue that investigators have to go on.

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Investigators believe the remains are that of a white male, 30 to 50 years old. The person had heel spurs and at least two fractures: One a healing stress fracture of the 7th thoracic vertebra and one perimortem fracture of the left shoulder, broken at or around the time of death.

Blue basketball shorts, size extra large, and white men's underwear were also found in addition to the rings.

It's unknown if the cause of death was related to the nearby railroad tracks.

Delaware County Coroner Scott Hahn and Cpl. Jeff Stanley, an investigator for the Delaware County Sheriff's Office, said DNA samples have been collected from the remains, "But we have to have something to compare it to," Hahn said.

The idea behind posting the case on the Unidentified Persons Database, which is accessible to other law enforcement agencies as well as the public, is that other investigators with a missing person in their jurisdiction could get families members to give DNA samples for an attempt to match. 

"It could be as easy as tomorrow or it could take years," Stanley said. 

Investigators don't believe the remains are connected to any area missing persons case. How the remains ended up near the railroad tracks, where they were discovered by railroad workers, is unknown.

"Where the body was found, it could be a transient person from another state," Stanley said.

Anyone with information about the body found in November in Delaware County is asked to contact Cpl. Jeff Stanley of the Delaware County Sheriff's Office at 765-747-7840.

Contact Keith Roysdon at 765-213-5828 and follow him on Facebook and Twitter.