It could months before bone fragment collected at the property of a missing Portage County woman are identified. At this point investigators are not even certain the remains are human.
The Portage County Sheriff's Office says in August they were contacted by the United States Social Security Administration asking for assistance in locating Marie Jost after after several pieces of mail went unanswered. Marie, who will turn 101 this month, has not used medical benefits since 1980.
On August 30, Deputies went to Marie's Amherst Junction home and made contact with her son, Charles. He explained that Marie was alive and well and on a trip with her other son, Theodore, who is 74, and also hasn't been seen since the 1980s.
Investigators also questioned Marie's daughter and son-in-law, Ronald and Delores Disher at their Almond home.
Deputies say information provided by family members has been inconsistent. Dolores Disher first told investigators she saw her mother less than a year ago. Then she changed her story, saying she hadn't seen her since her sister's funeral in 1980.
Investigators say they dug deeper and learned the three had received $175,000 after fraudulently cashing Marie's social security checks. The three are charged with theft, mail fraud, forgery, and unauthorized use of an individual's personal document.
In September, the State Crime Lab was at Charles' property. Captain Dale O'Kray from the Portage County Sheriff's Department says cadaver dogs picked up spots of interest, but no human remains have been found. Captain O'Kray says the search for evidence will be slow one, as Charles Jost was a hoarder.
This week Charles Jost was found competent to stand trial, while Ronald and Dolores both enter not guilty pleas.
The three remain behind bars on a $20,000 cash bonds.
Capt. O'Kray say there is still no new information regarding Marie and Theodore Jost.
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