Nearly six months after their discovery, authorities have identified human remains discovered in a coal chute at the Apache Generating Station near Cochise.
21-year-old Devon Lee Ward of California was a private in the military, stationed at Fort Bliss in Texas, before being listed as absent without leave in June, said Carol Capas, a Cochise County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman.
On June 27, the Sheriffβs Office was notified about remains found in one of three coal rotary plows β large machinery that moves coal β that are part of the stationβs delivery system.
Deputies found bones and body parts in the coal, and the remains were in an advanced state of decomposition, Capas said.
Itβs unknown how long the body was in the chute,Β but authorities believe it may have been in a coal train prior to the coal being unloaded into the coal chute at the plant.Β
The body was sent to the Pima County Medical Examiner for autopsy, and they were able to positively identify the remains as Ward's through a fingerprint match, Capas said.
Next of kin has been contacted and the sheriff's department is continuing its investigation.
