Hikers in Vermont recently discovered human remains while hiking in the Green Mountain National Forest. And the circumstances surrounding the remains suggest they could be those of a hiker.
According to Vermont State Police officials, they were notified at around 4 p.m. on April 25 that hikers traveling through the forest in the town of Mount Tabor, Vermont located a pair of aged and partly buried hiking boots in a boggy area, and they had discovered what appeared to be human foot bones inside the boots.
The hikers contacted the Vermont State Police, who responded and conducted a search of the area without locating anything further. The remains were secured and transported to the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington for analysis, which confirmed the remains were human.
State police resumed their investigation on Monday, May 4 with a coordinated search of the area involving members from VSP’s Bureau of Criminal Investigations, Search and Rescue Team and Crime Scene Search Team, along with North Country Search Dogs and U.S. Forest Service law enforcement personnel.
Searchers located additional human remains and a nearby site with outdoor gear and personal items, all of which were partly or mostly covered in several layers of leaf fall, forest growth and soil.
Officials did not specify where the remains were found. Most of the town of Mount Tabor lies in the Green Mountain National Forest. The town has one of the lowest populations in that area of Vermont and features many hiking trails, including a stretch of the Appalachian Trail and Long Trail.
State police officials said analysis of the remains and associated items is continuing, and the identity of the deceased person and the circumstances surrounding the death are unknown at this time.
State police officials are asking that anyone with information that could assist investigators call the Rutland Barracks at 802-773-9101 or submit an anonymous tip online at https://vsp.vermont.gov/tipsubmit.
