MISSOULA, Mont. – Michigan State Police are looking into a grisly find in Montana in hopes of solving the cold case disappearance of three young brothers, according to WDIV.
The boys, Andrew, 9; Alexander, 7; and Tanner Skelton, 5; were last seen in Morenci, Michigan during Thanksgiving of 2010. Police later arrested the boys' father, John Skelton, who was taking care of them after convincing their mother, who had exclusive custody, that he would return them the next day.
John Skelton, who claimed in court he gave the boys to an unidentified group to keep them from their mother, was found guilty in 2011 on three counts of unlawful imprisonment. He is still incarcerated after receiving a sentence of 10 to 15 years in prison.
Missoula police confirmed that they found a box containing bones and teeth believed to be from three children in a Missoula shed in September, according to KPAX.
A search warrant shows that police were called to the home on Sept. 27 located on the 2100 block of South 12th Street West for a report of the discovery of possible human remains.
The former tenant of the rental property had been evicted the previous week. A cleaning crew was contracted to clean up the items left behind by the evicted renter. That’s when the cleaning crew found a box in a shed on the property that contained what was suspected human remains.
The Montana Crime Lab verified that the remains were human. A University of Montana anthropology professor also determined they were “likely modern and not archaeological.”
The professor estimated the ages of the children to be 6-to-10 years old, 5-to-8 years old and 2-to-4 years old at the time of death.
A suspect is not in custody at this time. Missoula police say it’s an open investigation.
CNN Wire contributed to this report.
