COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Investigators have found small bone fragments at the property of Edna Nadine Turnbull, a 91-year-old woman who has been missing since the Marshall fire destroyed her Superior neighborhood nearly three weeks ago.
The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office announced the discovery Wednesday. Investigators are now testing the bone fragments to determine whether they are human or nonhuman. It may be weeks or months before results are available, deputies said.
“We remain committed to seeking answers and closure for the Turnbull family,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Turnbull was last seen Dec. 30, going into her home in the 1500 block of South 76th Street in Old Town Superior. Authorities ordered residents to evacuate because of the Marshall fire, but Turnbull went back inside to try to rescue her dogs.
Turnbull is the last remaining missing person connected to the fire, which burned over 6,000 acres and destroyed nearly 1,100 homes in Boulder County, making it the most destructive wildfire in Colorado history.
The day after the fire, three people were reported missing. The first person was found alive on Jan. 2 and the second person, 69-year-old Robert Sharpe, was found dead on Jan. 5 in the 5900 block of Marshall Road in Boulder County.
Turnbull’s family described her as a warm, bubbly and welcoming grandmother.
Turnbull lived with her adult granddaughter, Layla Cornell, and their two dogs, two goats and two horses. A fundraiser set up to help Cornell said all of their possessions were destroyed, their horses were killed and their other four animals were still missing.
“When Layla was rescued from her home it was engulfed in flames with Grandma still inside,” said Amy Smith, a family friend who organized the fundraiser. "She has always had her grandma, who has been her mom, to take care of her throughout her life.”
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