Second body in the cistern was Little’s

The Howell County Sheriff's Office has confirmed that the second set of skeletal remains found in a Lanton area cistern are, in fact, those of Limon Little. Little and his roommate, Ira Briscoe, went missing at the same time in December 2020. The remains were found in August 2024 near the missing men’s residence. Earlier this month, the Sheriff’s Office confirmed one set of remains was Briscoe’s. 

 

The March 18 announcement identifying Little disclosed, “A forensic scientist stated in the official report - after comparing all samples provided to them by the Missouri State Highway Patrol Crime Lab, they were able to conclude the remains located in August 2024 were those of Limon Little. This conclusion made after comparing a profile generated from the remains to a reference standard provided by Little's sister.  This probability was determined to be 99.33%.”

 

Sheriff Matt Roberts subsequently notified Little's next-of-kin.

 

The Sheriff’s office is continuing to work leads and is, “actively working with the Missouri State Highway Patrol Crime Lab on other submitted items of evidence.” As previously reported by Howell County News, the discovery of the remains has been investigated as a homicide from the beginning. 

 

“We were already working it as a homicide based on how we found the remains,” Sheriff Roberts told the News on March 11. “The way the remains were discovered – it could not have been an accident.”

 

Law enforcement are not releasing the names of any suspects at this time.