Six months of waiting for DNA results

The Howell County Sheriff's Office and concerned citizens must continue to wait for the results of DNA analysis of two skeletal bodies that were found in the southern part of the county last summer. The remains were discovered on August 10 in the Lanton, Mo. area. The remains were found four miles from where two men, Ira Briscoe and Limon Little, had been living when they disappeared in December 2020. Briscoe's mother, Marilyn, and other concerned friends and family have remained vigilant in their search for the missing men and for answers to their disappearance.

 

Despite widespread speculation of a connection, there is evidence to confirm it.

 

Investigators sent samples of the remains to the Missouri State Highway Patrol Crime Lab for DNA analysis.

 

“Lt. (Torey) Thompson advised me the MSHP Crime Lab was experiencing some difficulty due to the degradation of the remains,” Sheriff Matt Roberts told the News on Feb. 21. “We have been in contact with the Crime Lab regarding the case but have not received any positive identification at this time.” The remains were recovered by law enforcement from a cistern and had been exposed to the weather for an unknown period of time. The sheriff assures the public that this remains an open, ongoing investigation and, “Once we have received positive identification, I will release the identity(s) of the remains.”

 

“Someone out there knows something,” said Marilyn Briscoe on Feb. 22. “This isn’t something that someone can hide for forever, especially in a small town. Someone out there is living next to the person that did this to my son. Someone knows the truth. We are just asking, that they come forward and tell what they know.”