10/18/11 Remains are those of missing Wooster woman

  • By Nick Sabo
  • October 18, 2011
  • 424
                        
SUMMARY: ID made using comparison of photos and database records Dental records have confirmed that skeletal remains found Oct. 15 are those of a missing Wooster woman. Wooster Police Sgt. Bob Merillat said Tuesday Oct. 18 that comparison of dental records by forensic odontologist have confirmed the remains are those of Susan Ryan. Ryan went missing in June 2010 from her Saybolt Avenue home in Wooster, taking with her a handgun and her driver’s license. The remains were found by a person clearing away brush, Merillat said. Merillat said the identification was made by odontologist Charles Berner using photos of the teeth and jawbone compared with dental records filed with the National Crime Information Center's missing persons database. “That was sufficient to make a comparison with the dental records we already had,” Merillat said. “The odontologist is the same person we worked with when we entered the records. Having the films and X-rays sped the process along, we were able to access them immediately.” Ryan’s remains were found near a creek in a brush-filled area off Kemrow Street near the Wayne County Fairgrounds. According to Merillat, the area had been among those searched by police and volunteers after Ryan’s disappearance. Merillat said he “is not surprised” the body was not found, given the dense nature of undergrowth in the spot the bones were found. The site where the remains were found is in the proximity of Christmas Run Park, which Ryan was known to visit frequently. Ryan’s identification and a small caliber handgun were found near the remains, Wooster Police Matt Fisher said. Foul play is not suspected in Ryan’s death. A cause of death has not been determined.


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