Mystery skull investigation by lone detective takes a new turn

An investigation directed at identifying a skull found near Camp Sherman last fall has now shifted away from focusing on a black transient male seen in Sisters and Bend in the late 1980s and early 1990s, according to Detective Scott Farrell of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.

The detective is now looking into another black transient seen in the Sisters area just a few years ago.

“After Bend police tentatively identified the man we were first investigating as Harry Plant, I talked to the Nampa, Idaho police department,” Farrell said. “My contact there said they thought the photo of a reconstructed head was Harry Plant and that he had been seen in Nampa. They thought he might have moved on to Ontario, Oregon.”

Farrell called the Ontario police department. As he was talking to that agency, their assistant chief came into the room, heard the conversation and stated that he had seen Harry Plant there in Ontario just a few days ago.

Farrell’s investigation is now directed at another black transient seen both in the Sisters and Camp Sherman area in 2002 or 2003.

“This second individual walked with a very distinct limp and carried a cane,” Farrell said.

Last week, Farrell received a call from a citizen who recalled seeing the second individual walking around Sisters in the late summer of 2002 or 2003.

“He said that in August of one of those years, he saw this same man walking along Highway 20 near the Camp Sherman junction,” Farrell added. “He described him as a black man 40 to 50 years old, walking with a limp and using a cane.”

Last September, hikers from the Camp Sherman area found the skull in a ravine in the woods near Camp Sherman. They reported their find to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, which removed the skull and other bones. The materials were shipped to the Oregon State Police crime lab for forensic investigation.

There was no DNA remaining in the skull, but studies there revealed that based on its structure the skull was thought to be that of an older black man. The other bones were believed to be of animals. After a Florida crime lab reconstructed the face on the skull, several Sisters area residents contacted the sheriff’s office to report they believe the skull is that of a transient seen in Sisters during the late 1980s and early 1990s. That individual wore several layers of clothing and a plastic outer layer in both warm and cold weather. He kept to himself and seldom talked to anyone.

Other Sisters area residents questioned the identification of the skull.

“I’m convinced now that we are looking at two different black men and it looks like the first individual has been see recently in eastern Oregon,” Farrell said. “Since I am the only investigative detective in the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office, I’m spread pretty thin with this and other investigations. Therefore, I am appealing for anyone with new information on this second individual to contact me.”

Anyone with information about the second individual is asked to contact Detective Farrell at 541-475-6520.