Bones found in a 1966 gold Chevrolet Impala submerged in an Illinois river are possibly connected to a 1976 cold case about the disappearance of two men.
Business partners Clarence Owens, 65, and Everett Hawley, 74, were last seen on Feb. 19, 1976 at a farm auction near the border between Winnebago County and Ogle County in Illinois, the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office said on its website’s cold case section.
The two men, who had been in a car matching the description of the one found in the river, were reported missing the next day after failing to show up at an appointment to assess the property in German Valley, Illinois, according to the International Center for Unidentified & Missing Persons.
Recently, a group of fishermen on the Pecatonica River helped make a possible breakthrough in the case.
“Fishermen were fishing in the Pecatonica River with sonar looking for a best fishing hole. They came across what they thought was a car,” Winnebago County Sheriff Gary Caruana said at a press conference Wednesday.
The men notified Pecatonica police, who, in turn, notified WCSO. Divers at the scene Monday were able to find a piece of the car about 8 to 10 feet underwater and confirmed with an antiques dealer that it was a 1966 Impala.
The piece was also gold; the car had received a fresh coat of paint shortly before the two men went missing, Sheriff Caruana said.
After a femur bone was found inside the car, the coroner was contacted. The car was fully dredged up and more bones were found, some in the car and some in the riverbed.
“What we do have right now is what looks to be human skeletal remains of two individuals. We do not know if these individuals are female or male at this point. … We have over 100 skeletal remains that we have recovered, but we know that there are many more that are still out there. Whether or not we will be able to recover them is still yet to be seen,” said Winnebago County Coroner Jennifer Muraski.
Once the coroner’s office recovers what it can, it will work to identify the remains and try to figure out what happened to the two individuals. Personal effects have also been recovered, Ms. Muraski said.
The case is being investigated as a missing persons probe without foul play, but Sheriff Caruana asked the public for any tips they might have on the car and the two people inside.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.