Police searching for teens find two bodies among remains

HAMMOND, Ind. -- Investigators awaited help from an anthropologist as they continued digging through the basement of a northwest Indiana home Wednesday, a day after finding at least two bodies wrapped in plastic and buried beneath freshly poured concrete.\nThe remains, discovered during a search for three missing teenagers, were covered in heavy layers of plastic and duct tape.\n"The person took a long time in doing this," Lake County Coroner David Pastrick said. "It took a while for our pathologist to remove all that was around the body."\nOne of the bodies had been identified as a white male. The other had not yet been unwrapped, Pastrick said.\nAn autopsy of the first body had begun, and pathologists expected to have results later Wednesday, he said.\nPolice Chief John Cory said more remains were found Wednesday morning, but it was not immediately clear if a third victim had been confirmed.\nInvestigators used a jackhammer and hand tools to conduct the search. They halted the work at midday until an anthropologist arrived from Indianapolis.\n"An anthropologist has a great deal of experience in removing human remains historically. They have that expertise. We want that expertise here," Cory said.\nInvestigators searched the house for about 10 hours Tuesday and removed two body bags. A tenant described as "a person of interest" had been taken into custody and was being questioned, Cory said.\nHe would not identify the person in custody. No criminal charges were immediately filed.\nOfficers searched the two-story apartment house using ground-penetrating radar equipment and a dog trained to search for bodies, Cory said.\nInvestigators took steps to shield their work from a crowd of on-lookers. Tarps were hung between the house and the home next door, preventing anyone from peering inside. Newspapers covered a first-floor window.\nAn officer was seen pushing a wheelbarrow containing shovels into the house. Two dump trucks were parked nearby.\nOfficer Michael Jorden, a city police spokesman, said three male teenagers have been reported missing in the past several months. They are a 19-year-old last seen in May, but reported missing two weeks ago; a 16-year-old missing for an undetermined amount of time; and 13-year-old Michael Dennis, last seen Sept. 10 at a home near the one searched.\nJoanna Gilkison, Dennis' aunt, was among those waiting outside the house as police worked. She worried that her nephew would be identified among the dead.\n"We're just hoping it's not him, but we don't know," said Gilkison, who lives in Stegger, Ill., a south suburb of Chicago.\nNancy DiGiovanni, a family friend, told the Post-Tribune of Merrillville that Dennis and other children used to frequent the home where the remains were found.\nThe site of the search was just north of the community's downtown in a neighborhood of tightly packed, run-down homes.\nCity officials said they had battled gang activity in the area and recently installed high-powered street lights in an attempt to curb crime.