Human remains found in abandoned shed in Warren County, prompting state police probe

Pennsylvania State Police are looking to use DNA testing or other identification techniques as they investigate human skeletal remains that were discovered in an abandoned shed in rural Warren County on Tuesday night.

The remains are believed to have been in the shed for as long as a year, said Lt. Mark Weindorf, crime section supervisor for the state police's Troop E, which is based in Lawrence Park and covers Erie, Warren, Crawford and Venango counties.

Weindorf said investigators plan to use DNA or other techniques, such as dental records, to try to identify the body. State police will also review reports on missing persons, Weindorf said.

State police said the body was found in a shed on a property on Kidder Road in Freehold Township in northwestern Warren County, east of Corry in Erie County.

Weindorf said the property owner discovered the body after entering the shed on Tuesday night. The shed had been abandoned and the property owner had not been in it for about a year, Weindorf said.

He said police are getting assistance from Dennis Dirkmaat, chair of the department of applied forensic sciences at Mercyhurst University in Erie.

Another case: Missing person probe leads to discovery of suspected human remains in burn pit in Summit

Contact Ed Palattella at epalattella@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNpalattella.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Human remains found in abandoned shed in Warren County, PA