Sherry Arnold Disappearance: Remains Identified as Montana Teacher
Female remains found near Williston, N.D., confirmed as Sherry Arnold.
March 22, 2012 — -- A woman's remains found outside Williston, N.D., have been identified as Sherry Arnold, a Montana teacher who went missing while out for a jog the morning of Jan. 7, the FBI said.
"The Medical Examiner's Office at the Montana State Crime Lab has identified the remains as Sherry Arnold of Sidney, Mont.," read a written statement by Deborah Dujanovic Bertram, a spokeswoman for the FBI's Salt Lake City Division.
On Tuesday, agents from an FBI evidence response team and local police began to recover the remains of a female found near Williston, N.D., a prior FBI statement said. Williston is about 45 miles from Sidney.
"We want to thank God for all the amazing people and their prayers, help and continued support in bringing Sherry home to her family," Arnold's aunt, Janet Erhardt, told ABC News Wednesday.
Two Colorado men are in custody in the 43-year-old Arnold's disappearance, charged with aggravated kidnapping.
The location of the body across the state line from where the kidnapping occurred means there could be federal charges against the two suspects in the case, Michael Keith Spell, 22, and Lester Van Waters Jr., 48, both of Parachute, Colo.
Spell and Waters pleaded not guilty last month to one count each of aggravated kidnapping during an arraignment in state district court in Sidney. They face a possible death sentence under Montana law if convicted.
Court documents filed by the prosecutor in the case indicate Spell has confessed to a role in a crack-fueled abduction and presumed killing of Arnold. Authorities have said Spell attempted to take FBI agents to the site but could not find it.
ABC News' Michael S. James and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
