Hunters discover human remains Sunday, authorities positively identify bones Thursday

Human remains found Sunday in Paragon, Ind., near Martinsville, by a hunter and his son have been positively identified as those of missing IU student Jill Behrman. While news of the finding has been circulating news cycles for the last week, the bones were not publicly identified as Behrman's until Thursday evening.\nThe two men who discovered the bones originally believed they had found animal remains. After finding part of a skull, they called police to report their findings. \nAfter the Indiana State Police secured the scene, the Morgan County Death Investigation Team recovered portions of a cranium, a jawbone, vertebrae and extremity bones from the wooded area, as well as a few personal items, including an earring.\nDr. Stephen Nawrocki, a forensic anthropologist at the University of Indianapolis, arrived the next day with a team of anthropologists. He later took the remains back to U of I, where he requested X-rays so more information could be determined. \nDental records allowed Dr. Ted Parks, a forensic odontologist, to make the positive medical identification that the remains were Behrman's, said Indiana State Police Detective Rick Lang at a press conference Thursday afternoon. In an initial analysis of the scene, Nawrocki said the remains could have been placed in the wooded area as early as 2000 or as late as 2002, said Indiana State Police 1st Sergeant Dave Bursten. Behrman disappeared in May 2000.\nBloomington Police Department Detective Marty Deckard, retired FBI Agent Gary Dunn and Lt. Dennis Kuntz from the Department of Natural Resources met with Jill's parents, Eric and Marilyn Behrman at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, just hours after Parks made the identification.\n"It was a very emotional meeting," Dunn said. "Obviously, they were thankful that their daughter was found and thankful that she's going to be returned home. Of course that was the number one priority in the case -- to find her and bring her home. Thankfully that's going to be achieved in the next few weeks."\nIn a statement released by the Behrmans, the family thanked everyone working on the case, as well as the support everyone has given them since Jill disappeared.\n"At this time we do not have any answers to the obvious questions we are all asking. Our deepest appreciation goes out to the hundreds and thousands of people in Bloomington, statewide and nationally who have joined us in this 34-month ordeal and have kept Jill in their prayers," the family's statement said.