CONOWINGO — Numerous law enforcement officers returned to a Girl Scouts camp in Conowingo on Wednesday — six days after skeletal remains of an unknown person were discovered there — and they found additional “items of evidentiary value” during a search on that property, according to the Cecil County Sheriff’s Office.
Lt. Michael Zack, a CCSO spokesman, declined to specify what investigators found when they revisited Camp Shadow Brook on Shadow Brook Road, citing the ongoing investigation.
In addition to CCSO deputies, Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) troopers, Cecil County Department of Emergency Services (CCDES) personnel and members of two fire departments — Water Witch Volunteer Fire Company of Port Deposit and North East Volunteer Fire — participated in the search on the camp property, he reported.
Also taking part were cadaver dogs and their handlers from search & rescue teams and CCDES and PSP drone pilots, Zack said. The drones provided searchers with an aerial view, he added.
“Items of evidentiary items were found,” Zack commented, declining to provide details in an effort to avoid compromising the ongoing investigation.
As of Thursday, one week after the initial discovery of the skeletal remains, the deceased person had not been officially identified, according to Zack.
The skeletal remains were transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore late last week for an autopsy, with plans to then send those human remains to a lab that specializes in DNA extraction, police reported.
“We will take familial DNA and compare that to the DNA taken from the bones,” Zack explained.
CCSO investigators are working closely with PSP detectives, who are trying to solve a missing-person case after a man vanished from the Lancaster, Pa., area in early April, according to Zack.
“After the discovery, we started looking into missing-person cases in the area and started piecing things together. We became aware of a missing-person case in Pennsylvania. A man went missing near Lancaster approximately four months ago,” Zack said.
Because of the ongoing investigation and because the skeletal remains have yet to be positively identified, Zack declined to provide more information about that PSP missing-person case.
Counselors at Camp Shadow Brook called authorities at approximately 1:15 p.m. on Aug. 8 after finding the skeletal remains on the bank of Conowingo Creek, reported Zack, who noted that no children saw the remains.
“No kids observed the remains, but the camp did contact the parents of the girls who were there (on camp property) because there was a heavy police presence at that camp after the discovery,” Zack explained.
The investigation is continuing, and CCSO officials are urging anyone with additional information that might help to call Det. Travis Chinery at 410-996-5500, ext. 3303, or email him at travis.chinery@cecilsheriffmd.gov.
Anyone who wishes to remain anonymous and has information regarding any crime can contact the Cecil County Sheriff’s Office tipline at 410-392-2180.
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