'Item of interest' found in search

Local authorities enlisted the help of a forensic anthropologist and the FBI on Thursday in the search for buried bodies in a vacant lot near Washington Road.

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Annette M. Drowlette/Staff

Investigators began digging in search of buried bodies Thursday at a vacant lot on a property off Cherry Street.

The FBI suspended the search shortly before 5 p.m. Thursday, Richmond County sheriff's Lt. Scott Gay said. Some evidence was collected, and it will be sent off for analysis, he said.

Spurred on by a tip from an unidentified woman who wanted to "clear her conscience," Richmond County investigators spent the day setting up a makeshift dig operation, complete with backhoes and tents, in hopes of finding remains buried on the property off Cherry Street, Lt. Gay said. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation also was involved.

Starting at one of two places that cadaver dogs indicated human remains might be buried, the team had barely scratched the surface when it uncovered some possible evidence. Lt. Gay said authorities could not say whether human remains were found, calling what was unearthed an "item of interest." However, he said, several animal bones were found.

"That's why we have the experts here, so that they can look and give us a reasonable explanation of what we find," he said.

Investigators began examining the scene after being told by an out-of-state law enforcement agency that an informant claimed bodies were buried in the lot. He said the woman was being interviewed by the FBI, which is also assisting the sheriff's department with the recovery process.

Lt. Gay said that although it is still early in the investigation, police do not have reason to believe that information the informant gave matches any missing person cases in Richmond County. Instead, he said, investigators were taking a much closer look at older cold case files.

Until a few years ago, Lt. Gay said, three houses stood on the vacant lot.