PORT ANGELES — An area in the drained Lake Aldwell is being excavated after a human bone was found there.
Clallam County Sheriff’s Office detectives suspect the bone might be that of Karen Tucker, who was reported missing in 1991, said Detective Sgt. Lyman Moores in a prepared statement issued today.
The sheriff’s office will send the bone to the University of North Texas to have a DNA profile established and to be compared to the Tucker’s DNA profile, Moores said.
The sheriff’s office on Monday cordoned off an area at the former Lake Aldwell about 1 mile south of the Elwha River Bridge on U.S. Highway 101, and excavators are looking for more human remains, Moores said.
A hiker found the bone in a layer of silt on Friday and turned it over to the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe which contacted Olympic National Park.
Park archeologist, Dave Conca — working with Elwha tribal archeologist Bill White — identified the bone as human and determined that it was not of ancient Indian remains, based on the location where it was found.
The bone was turned over to the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office.
The Clallam County Criminal Investigations’ Bureaus is leading the multi-agency investigation which includes the park and the tribe.
The area where the human bone was found was searched using a cadaver dog owned by Clallam County Search and Rescue member Norma Snelling.
The dog alerted — indicated it had possibly senses remains — in four separate areas within 20 feet of where the human bone was found.
The DNA profile of the bone also will be entered into National Missing Persons DNA Database to be compared against other reported missing persons throughout the country.
The lake has been draining since the Elwha Dam was removed earlier this year as part of the Elwha River Restoration Project.
