Unidentified Human Remains Located In Boone County

On Saturday, March 22, human remains were discovered in the Rocky Fork Lakes Conservation Area in Boone County.

The Boone County Sheriff’s Office requested the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control to investigate the scene and the circumstances surrounding the death.

The human remains were transported to the Boone County Medical Examiner’s Office for identification and to determine the cause of death.

An investigation is ongoing, and no further details are available at this time, the Patrol said on Thursday.

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Anyone with information related to this case is encouraged to contact Troop F Headquarters at 573-751-1000.

According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, the Rocky Fork Lakes Conservation Area is a 2200-acre hiking area located six miles north of Columbia, east of Highway 65, situated between Prathersville and Hallsville, is open 4 a.m., to 10 p.m., daily.

The terrain is extremely rugged due to strip mining, which occurred prior to acquisition by the Department.

"There are over 60 lakes or ponds of significant size, which have a total surface area of 116 acres. The largest lake is over 50 acres. In addition, there are over 30 smaller (less than one acre) pools, some of which hold water the entire year.

"Rocky Fork Lakes Conservation Area was purchased by the Department in March, 1979 for a purchase price of $379,000. Prior to acquisition, the land was owned and mined by Peabody Coal Company, from 1963 until 1972. According to a 1917 edition of a topographical map (Sturgeon Quadrangle) there were 15 residences on the tract at that time.

"Two very old cemeteries exist on the property and the names on the headstones reflect past local history. There are Browns' buried in one of the cemeteries that were connected with Brown's Station a few miles away. Some of the stones date back to the middle 1830s," the MDC said on its website.