Crews return to Valley View Ferry to search for human remains

Lexington police and fire crews returned Wednesday to an area near the Valley View Ferry at the Kentucky River where human bones have been recovered over the past week.

Lexington Fire Department began working near the Valley View Ferry Oct. 22 to pull out vehicles that were spotted in the river.

Lexington police confirmed Wednesday that both fire and police crews have returned to the ferry where bones have been recovered from a vehicle crews were trying to pull from the river. The ferry connects Tates Creek Road in Fayette and Jessamine counties with Madison County.

Last week, when crews pulled out the front half of one of the rusted vehicles, boney structures from a human foot and ankle were found.

On Saturday, the back of the car was pulled out and a fight femur, two radiuses and an ulna were found, Fayette County Coroner Gary Ginn said earlier this week.

Dr. Emily Craig, a former state forensic anthropologist who now works with the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, or NamUs, has also assisted with the investigation, Ginn has said.

Ginn said samples from the “bony structures” will be sent to a lab for testing, but because of how long they have been in the water, it might not be possible to match DNA from them.

Ginn has said is was too early to tell whether the death resulted from foul play.

The vehicle was found 20 to 30 feet from shore, just downstream from the ferry.

In addition to the vehicle in which the bones were found, Ginn said four other vehicles have been pulled out of the river during the operation.

The ferry was open Wednesday for morning commuters. But it was closed for the remainder of the day.

The ferry will be on a regular schedule Thursday.

This story was originally published November 2, 2016 at 2:24 PM with the headline "Crews return to Valley View Ferry to search for human remains."