DNA tests planned on man's skull found along Illinois River

KINGSTON MINES, Ill. (AP) - Central Illinois authorities are planning DNA tests on a human skull found along a riverbank in hopes of identifying the individual.

The skull was found Monday along the Illinois River by a property owner at the Rivers Edge Campground in the Peoria County village of Kingston Mines. A forensic pathologist determined that it belongs to an unknown man.

The (Peoria) Journal Star reports (http://bit.ly/2saKsgA ) that County Coroner Jamie Harwood said Tuesday the skull was in the water an estimated two to four months.

He says teeth have been removed from the skull so DNA can be extracted and compared with DNA databases or a specific relative of local missing persons.

Harwood says that process is usually tedious and is similar to "looking for a needle in a haystack."

___

Information from: Journal Star, http://pjstar.com