web1_TTL102216Biden1.jpg

UPDATED: Vice President Joe Biden speaks at Wilkes University

Giant pages from ancient Quran on display in Washington, DC

<p>Investigators say they are closer than they were a week ago in their efforts to identify three adults whose murders have gone unsolved for more than four decades.</p><p>A <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/597065/investigators-florida-forensics-workshop-will-fast-track-local-cold-cases" target="_blank">week-long forensics workshop</a> held at the University of South Florida concluded Friday with the unveiling of the victims&#8217; reconstructed faces. The approximations, of the adults <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/local/590654/investigators-begin-exhuming-remains-in-an-attempt-to-crack-unsolved-cases" target="_blank">whose remains were exhumed from their graves last month</a> in Hanover Township, were created by forensics artists from around the country.</p><p>Officials said the event fast-tracked their investigations, as it was unlikely the facial reconstructions could be completed for several months.</p><p>State Police Cpl. Thomas McAndrew, lead investigator in two of the cases, said it was &#8220;very emotional seeing victims in essence come to life.&#8221; The victims, he said in a text message from the event, &#8220;have a better chance now than they did a few weeks ago.&#8221;</p><p>The victims &#8212; two women dumped along local interstates and a man found shot in the chest in Bear Creek Township &#8212; died in Luzerne County in the 1970s. Their deaths were either ruled homicides or considered highly suspicious. Some of the investigations were abandoned within months.</p><p>One of the women, found in 1973 along Interstate 80 near Black Creek Township, had been wrapped in a blanket and doused with sulfuric acid. The other woman&#8217;s body was found nude and badly decomposed along Interstate 81 near Nuangola in 1970.</p><p>The investigations are already yielding results.</p><p>The Bear Creek Township victim was initially thought to be middle-aged, but investigators now believe he was in his late teens. Such a small detail can turn a case around, investigators said.</p><p>McAndrew credited Dr. Erin Kimmerle for including the local cases in the event.</p><p>Kimmerle, <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/585178/local-cold-case-victims-buried-remains-puzzle-pieces-for-renowned-forensic-expert" target="_blank">a USF professor and renowned forensic anthropologist</a> who oversaw last month&#8217;s exhumations, assisted by performing skeletal analysis and chemical isotope testing during the workshop.</p><p>After exhuming the remains of the three adults, investigators traveled to Courtdale and unearthed the remains of an infant boy found discarded in a West Side landfill in 1980. The infant will eventually have a computerized likeness released, McAndrew said, but was not part of the forensics event.</p><p>Anyone with information on the victims&#8217; identities or able to provide information about any of the cases is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-TIPS or the Pennsylvania State Police.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_1970vic.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">In September 1970, the nude remains of a female were discovered dumped in a wooded area west of Interstate 81, near the Nuangola Exit in Rice Township. The remains are believed to be those of a 25- to 40-year-old black female, approximately 5 feet 4 inches to 5 feet 9 inches tall. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_1970vic.jpg</photo0><caption0>In September 1970, the nude remains of a female were discovered dumped in a wooded area west of Interstate 81, near the Nuangola Exit in Rice Township. The remains are believed to be those of a 25- to 40-year-old black female, approximately 5 feet 4 inches to 5 feet 9 inches tall. </caption0><photoCredit0>Submitted photo </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_1973vic.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">In August 1973, a motorist discovered human remains wrapped in a blanket and covered with sulfuric acid in an area north of Interstate 80 near Black Creek Township. The remains are believed to be those of 20- to 30-year-old black female, approximately 4 feet 10 inches tall to 5 feet 2 inches tall. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_1973vic.jpg</photo1><caption1>In August 1973, a motorist discovered human remains wrapped in a blanket and covered with sulfuric acid in an area north of Interstate 80 near Black Creek Township. The remains are believed to be those of 20- to 30-year-old black female, approximately 4 feet 10 inches tall to 5 feet 2 inches tall. </caption1><photoCredit1>Submitted photo </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_1979vic.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">In May 1979, two witnesses walking to a fishing spot in a remote wooded area in Bear Creek Township discovered a body near the bottom of an embankment. It is believed the individual was shot and killed approximately two weeks before being found. The remains are believed to be those of teenage white male, approximately 5 feet 8 inches to 6-feet tall. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_1979vic.jpg</photo2><caption2>In May 1979, two witnesses walking to a fishing spot in a remote wooded area in Bear Creek Township discovered a body near the bottom of an embankment. It is believed the individual was shot and killed approximately two weeks before being found. The remains are believed to be those of teenage white male, approximately 5 feet 8 inches to 6-feet tall. </caption2><photoCredit2>Submitted photo </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Three unidentified adults were killed in Luzerne County in 1970s</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Joe Dolinsky</p><p>jdolinsky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Joe Dolinsky at 570-991-6110 or on Twitter @JoeDolinskyTL</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Facial reconstructions of murder victims are unveiled