Bones found in Jefferson county canal likely from boy who died in 1981
UPDATED: to include new information
Bone fragments that possibly belong to a 3-year-old boy who died in a 1981 boating accident have been recovered from a canal in Jefferson County.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said crews searched the Great Feeder Canal after finding bones there. A local doctor determined one of the bones could be the leg bone of a young boy. The bones are now being examined for official confirmation of that opinion.
The Sheriff said water resource managers reduced flows in the Upper Snake River on Thursday and Friday to historic low levels to work on the Great Feeder Canal headgates. That gave the sheriff’s office opportunity to search the area.
The Sheriff’s Office tells Local News 8/KIDK Eyewitness News that the 1981 boating accident involved four adults and 5- and 3-year-old brothers. The brothers drowned, and the 5-year-old’s body was recovered six weeks later.
Officials say DNA testing on the bone fragments hasn’t been completed.
The surviving family left the area shortly after the incident. The Sheriff’s office is working to locate potential relatives so that further confirmation of their connection to the incident may be provided.
The Sheriff tells us that test will determine whether the bones belong to the boy or an animal.
Make sure to follow Local News 8/KIDK Eyewitness News for the latest on this investigation.
