Suspected Human Remains in Eastern Iowa “Medical Grade Replica”

Whelp, consider us to be duped. In fact, not just us, but law enforcement in the Clinton County area as well.

Yesterday, we shared a report from KCRG that employees at the Clinton County landfill believed they had found human remains: "employees told deputies they found it before 11 a.m. on October 8 and contacted the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office and Clinton Police, according to a media release from the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office. The remains are believed to be human and have been turned over to the Clinton County Medical Examiner’s Office for further examination."

Later, a team of 30 people was tasked with scanning the area where the supposed human remains were found.

The effort was to no avail.

According to WHO13, "On October 11, the suspected femur bone was examined by a Forensic Anthropologist who was working with the State Medical Examiner. The Forensic Anthropologist determined the suspected bone to be a “professional grade medical replica” of a human femur. The Forensic Anthropologist described the suspected bone as being “made to look as real as possible, from casts of actual bones”.

The case has now been closed by local authorities.

The discovery at the landfill caused quite a stir in the town of just under 25,000 as the Clinton County Sheriff's Office was assisted by the Clinton Police Department, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations, Iowa State Patrol, Clinton County Medical Examiner’s Office, Clinton County Emergency Management, Clinton County Maintenance Department, and Rittmer Incorporated at the time the thought-to-be bone was found.

Additionally, the finding came just 20 months after a previous search by authorities took place at the landfill in connection to a violent crime that took place in the Clinton area in February of 2021.

The case involved the murder of Khalil Pugh by Lewis Vaughn. You can read the entirety of that story from the Clinton Herald here.