Human remains found in Henderson County June 28 will be sent to the University of Tennessee for further examination.
Henderson police said the skeleton was found around 2:30 p.m. by a couple walking in a wooded area off South Main Street.
“They found what they thought was a skull and called 911,” said Henderson Police Department Lt. John Nevels. “We responded and confirmed it was a skull.”
After cordoning off the area, police spent two days sifting through debris, searching for more bones.
“We found most of the skeleton,” he said. “It may be missing a rib or two. And possibly a few smaller feet and hand bones could be missing. But we found almost all of it. And most of it was on top of the ground. It took us two different searches to get it all.”
Nevels declined to comment on whether any clothing or other objects were found with the skeleton.
“All we know for sure right now is that the remains are human and that it’s a person small in stature,” Nevels told the Hendersonian, adding that the experts at the University in Tennessee in Knoxville can help investigators by determining if the bones are male or female and a possible age range.
Meanwhile, HPD officials said the investigation is by no means stalled.
Nevels said investigators are combing the list of missing persons from Henderson County and surrounding areas.
“We will be going through and comparing (to the list of missing persons) to try and find the identity of the body,” Nevels said. “We will look through all Henderson County, and maybe some missing persons from Evansville and Vanderburgh County.
“If that doesn’t work out, we might expand to missing persons who disappeared in locations upriver, in case it does have something to do with the river flooding.”
Nevels said the area where the remains were found often floods. Therefore, authorities aren’t ruling out those missing persons police know have jumped from one of the U.S. 41 twin bridges.
Nevels said Henderson County has several missing persons including:
- Pamela Winchester
In March of 2022, Winchester—a 61-year-old Illinois resident—pulled her car into the Circle K on U.S. 41-North. Nevels said she went inside the building to the bathroom. Winchester then walked outside and around the side of the building. “She hasn’t been seen since. She left her phone in the car, and everything,” he said.
- Tiffany M. Phelps
In January of 2006, the 29-year-old Phelps was seen for the last time at the corner of Center and Ingram streets in Henderson. According to missing person websites such as the Charley Project and the Black and Missing Foundation, Phelps was a drug addict who, despite being transient, stayed in contact with her family. During the investigation, city police established that Phelps was receiving a monthly disability check until her disappearance. That’s when she stopped accessing the funds, authorities said.
- Danny Gibson
On Dec. 31, 1997, the 51-year-old Gibson was last seen at his residence on Roosevelt Street in Henderson.
While Gibson’s body hasn’t been found, his great-nephew, Billy Lyon also of Henderson, was charged federally with Gibson’s murder. Authorities said Lyon and his father, Larry Lyon, killed Gibson as part of a murder-for-hire scheme that involved executing people and taking their identities. The scheme crossed state lines and involved the deaths of Gibson and two other men, including one in Alabama. Larry Lyon killed himself as law enforcement tried to arrest him. Billy Lyon was around 20 years old in 2001 when he was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Owensboro to life in prison without possibility of parole. Lyon’s great-uncle Charles Stewart, formerly of Henderson County, was also tried and convicted of federal crimes in connection with the murder-for-hire agenda.
- Heather Teague
On Aug. 26, 1995, the 23-year-old disappeared while sunbathing on a Henderson County beach across the Ohio River from Newburgh, Ind. A witness saw her being dragged off the beach by a man. A person of interest in the case, Henderson resident Marty Dill, shot and killed himself as Kentucky State Police arrived at his home to question him.
Anyone with information about any of these missing persons can contact the Henderson Police Department at 270-831-1295.
