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Disturbing discovery: Human skull, bones are not those of two missing men on Menominee Reservation

The human skull and bones found on the Menominee Reservation were those of a male, but not two men who disappeared on the Reservation in the past six years.
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  • A hunter found a human skull and bones north of Keshena on the Menominee Reservation on Monday
  • The remains appear to be that of a man, and are 5-to-10 years old, Menominee County Chief Medical Examiner Patrick Roberts said
  • At least four people, two women, and two men remain missing on the Menominee Reservation. Dental records from the skull did not match those of two men who disappeared on the reservation in the past six years
  • Tribal police chief Keith Tourtillott told NBC 26 that his department has closed off the area where the remains were found but that he doesn't believe the community is at risk
  • Video shows the aunt of one of the missing men speaking about the discovery

(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)

A hunter discovered a skull and multiple bones on the Menominee Reservation on Monday. I'm Karl Winter, and the chief medical examiner now says the skull belongs to a male, but the remains were not those of two men who went missing in the past six years on the reservation. The chief medical examiner says they determined that through dental records, but investigators have an idea of how long the remains were hidden.

"It was found in a forest. It's right in the middle of the forest, in the middle of the reservation," Chief Medical Examiner Patrick Roberts said.

That's Roberts talking about the remains, which were found somewhere north of Keshena off of Highway 55.

"The remains appear to be 5-10 years old," Roberts said. "It's a male; we suspect it's a male individual because of the skull structure."

FBI forensic anthropologists determined the remains were not Robert Lyons, who went missing in 2017, or Justin Dickenson, who went missing in 2022. That was devastating news for Dickenson's aunt, Camay Lyons.

"With the remains being found and hoping that it was my nephew and finding out it wasn't — it was tough," Lyons said. "But at least a family out there is gonna get closure for their missing loved one."

Lyons says the recent disappearances have rocked the Keshena and Menominee communities.

"It is tough on the entire community," Lyons said, "because knowing that there's people out there responsible for somebody that's missing, is hard.

The Menominee Tribal Police continue to search the area where the remains were found, and the Medical Examiner's office and FBI will continue to work to identify the remains using DNA testing.


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