Officials in Breathitt County hope a body found over the weekend will be identified soon. The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife called the county coroner to the banks of Troublesome Creek in the Clayhole community on Saturday.
Due to decomposition, the body could not be identified, and the remains have been sent to the medical examiner’s office.
Two Breathitt County women went missing after the summer’s historic flooding. Breathitt County Coroner Hargis Epperson said they already collected the women’s dental records.
“We’re trying to use that to the best of our ability and we also, in advance, have gathered DNA samples from family members. Hopefully it’ll be an individual we’ve been missing, but we can’t confirm that at this point in time,” said Epperson.
Epperson said he is not sure how long they will have to wait for a positive identification.
“Dental comparisons go pretty fast. If we have to rely on the DNA results, after we gather those, those take two, two and a half months before we get a positive identification on those,” said Epperson.
The county coroner said, to his knowledge, the two women are the only missing persons in the area.
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