Cape County rediscovers unsolved homicide from 1981

The Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department is now actively investigating an unsolved homicide from 1981 that until recently had been forgotten, according to a news release from the department.

Now investigators plan to send off DNA from the remains for analysis in an attempt to determine the identity of the victim and the circumstances surrounding his death.

Investigators are looking into the the suspected homicide again after an ex-deputy recently called the department inquiring about progress on the cold case.

Skeletal remains were found in a wooded area next to Interstate 55 near Oak Ridge in 1981, believed to be that of a male about 20 to 40 years old, and clothed in green pants, a khaki-colored shirt and black slip-on loafers. The victim appeared to have been shot.

Over the years, as different sheriffs and deputies transitioned in and out of the department, the case file and remains were forgotten, said Lt. David James. 

Later, in 1988, a partial skull was found in a creek near the same location, and the sheriff at the time was unaware of the 1981 discovery. 

The call from the ex-deputy prompted a search for the case file and remains. The case file was found in the county archives center, while the skeletal remains were found in boxes in a basement closet at Southeast Missouri State University.

Investigators believe the remains could have been in the woods since the 1970s when they were discovered.