Human remains found in Coffee County identified as missing Manchester woman

COFFEE COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — Human remains found near railroad tracks in Coffee County earlier this week have been identified as a missing Manchester woman.

According to the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department, the State Medical Examiner’s Office has confirmed the remains were that of Bonne Sue Williams, who went missing in early July.

The department said deputies responded to the Forest Mill Community area on Vaughn Speckleton Road near railroad tracks Sunday, Aug. 25, to investigate a human remains call. The remains were located by someone checking their deer cameras, the department said in a release.

Williams was missing for several weeks after walking out of the home she shared with her daughter, Danielle Rocha, on July 9.

Rocha also confirmed the positive identification, telling News 2 the clothing found on the remains were the same her mother was wearing when she left home in early July.

“It was certainly my mother’s remains that were located on Sunday,” she told News 2. “We are heartbroken that she was found in this condition, all this time later. We can only pray to God that she did not have to suffer for long while she was out there on her own. But we are grateful to finally have an answer and some closure. We can finally begin to grieve properly, instead of being in a constant state of limbo, worry, and wondering.”

Williams was missing for about 50 days, Rocha said, and her family never stopped searching for her the entire time she was away. The last day they searched, she added, they were relatively close to the area where Williams was found.

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“We were on the exact train tracks she would have walked down before she veered off into the woods. Looking at the map, and comparing our last area of search to the estimated area she was located in, it would not have been long before we finally located her ourselves. We were getting closer each day,” she told News 2. “I am very grateful to the landowner that discovered her and reported it to the authorities. Without them, we would have had to make that discovery on our own.”

According to the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department, the previous investigation into Williams’ whereabouts has now been concluded.

“Sheriff Chad Partin and [Manchester] Police Chief Bill Sipe both extend their sympathy to the entire Williams family,” the department said in a release on social media .

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