| In Memory of Nicolas Zavala |
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| WATSEKA--Remains found in a remote area near the Illinois-Indiana state line have been tentatively identified as those of a missing Indiana boy, authorities said Friday. Dental records determined the skeletal remains were those of Nicolas Zavala of Oxford, Ind., according to the Iroquois County Sheriff's Police. Nicolas was 11 at the time of his disappearance in August. His grandmother, Margaret Williams, told police Aug. 13 that she had not seen or heard from her grandson since dropping him off in Fowler, Ind., for a camping trip nine days earlier. Indiana State Police Sgt. Shana Kennedy said Friday that investigators have never been able to locate the adult male and two boys about the same age as Nicolas that Williams said he was going camping with. The remains were found April 18 in a farm field in a remote area of the county, about 25 miles southeast of Watseka, Undersheriff Derek Hagen said. "There were also some other items at the scene that were of evidentiary value to us," Hagen said without elaborating. The area where the remains were found is about 30 miles northwest of Oxford, Ind. Nicolas' remains were taken to a forensic anthropologist in Indianapolis who will use DNA to make a positive identification and also examine the remains to determine a possible cause of death, Hagen said. Williams' attorney, Brian Dekker of Lafayette, Ind., said his client was "extremely upset" Thursday when he told her of the preliminary findings about the remains. "She had really held out hope that this was not him," Dekker said. He said that when he spoke to Iroquois county authorities they expressed confidence that the remains will be conclusively identified through DNA tests as those of Zavala. Dekker said he is not familiar with the details of what Williams, of West Lafayette, Ind., told police about the last time she saw her grandson. "There's kind of a gray area around what she actually told them, but it definitely revolves around Nicolas going camping." Iroquois County investigators are working with Indiana State Police investigators on the case. Indiana State Police were awaiting the positive DNA identification before commenting on the case, Kennedy said. "We can wait a little bit longer, and we expect those results Monday. Of course, if it is Nicolas we will be anxiously awaiting that confirmation and hoping the cause of death can be determined," she said. Last month, Indiana State Police said genetic tests done on blood found on carpeting in Williams' former home was Nicolas'. He had been living with his grandmother and her son just before he was reported missing. Williams was charged last fall with neglect of a dependent. Her trial is scheduled for June. |