CUMRU TWP., Pa. – It started Sunday night when a person walking their dog in the Flying Hills community was pulled off the path and into a wooded area where human remains were discovered.
Behind the police tape, a long forensic process is now underway.
“Our first priority is to identify who this individual potentially is,” said Berks County District Attorney John Adams.
Investigators say that won’t be quick.
“Because of the decomposition of the body itself, it may take some time, it may take DNA testing,” Adams said, “that will take, we would approximate, months.”
Once the identity is confirmed, investigators can move to the next step.
“Then our second priority would be to determine the cause and manner of death,” Adams said.
One possibility police are carefully examining is whether the remains could belong to a man who fled police in the area nearly a year ago.
“We have not ruled out that the remains could possibly be of that wanted fugitive…but outside of the location, there’s nothing that indicates to us at this point, at least, that this would be that fugitive,” Cumru Township Police Chief Madison Winchester said.
Police say the family of that man, Travelle Martin, has been notified.
“They are aware of what we’ve located, and they are willing to cooperate and help us out in determining if, in fact, the remains are of that wanted individual,” Winchester said.
For neighbors, the discovery has been deeply unsettling.
“It was super chilling,” Flying Hills resident John Lozada said. “When you’re out here every day, whether it’s walking with your family, you’re going for a run, or you’re just doing your day-to-day things, driving through the community — it’s super chilling to know something like this was almost in your backyard.”
Lozada says what people want most now is clarity.
“[Uncovering] real facts, real details, and just closure for the family,” he said. “I think that’s something they deserve. My heart and my prayers go out to them.”