Bones Believed to Belong to Kennewick Man

P O R T L A N D, Ore., June 26 -- A cardboard boxapparently containing 9,300-year-old human bones was handedover to the FBI on Monday and may soon be reunited with therest of the controversial Kennewick Man skeleton, officialssaid.

The box was found in an evidence vault in the Benton CountySheriff's office last week and was examined by a governmentscientist this weekend.

"I'm fairly certain the bones are from Kennewick Man,"county coroner Floyd Johnson said. Johnson was one of the firstpeople to examine the skeleton when it was found along theColumbia River near Kennewick, Wash., in 1996.

The majority of the skeleton is housed in the Burke Museumat the University of Washington in Seattle and is the center ofa custody battle that pits a coalition of Northwest Indiantribes against a group of anthropologists.

Bones Found in Sheriff’s Office

Indians from five Northwest tribes consider the skeleton adistant relative who should be reburied, while theanthropologists see Kennewick Man as a rare chance to studymigration into North America after the end of the Ice Age.

The fate of the skeleton awaits a decision by a federaljudge in Portland, who is considering arguments made last weekat a two-day U.S. District Court hearing. The decision is duein a few weeks.

Alan Schneider, a lawyer for the anthropologists, wasskeptical that the newly discovered bones were indeed part ofthe original find.

"This case has more wrinkles than a prune," he said. "Given the government's track record, we will wait until ourexperts make a determination."

Part of the skeleton was discovered to be missing in 1998,including several fragments from Kennewick Man's thigh bones.The FBI launched an investigation but could not find themissing bones.

The missing cardboard box was found in the Benton CountySheriff's office last week by detectives clearing out anevidence vault in preparation for a move, Sheriff Larry Taylorsaid.

Johnson said the loss was due to a clerical mix-up and anFBI agent in Seattle added that there was apparently "nothingsinister" regarding the missing box.