MANKATO (TEC News) – More human bones have been found in yet another search of a wooded, creek bed south of Mankato for remains of a Mapleton man.Law enforcement have conducted a minimum of six searches of the area near the Sleepy Hollow subdivision since Matthew Albrecht was last seen in April 2010.
Blue Earth County Sheriff Capt. Rich Murry says six additional bones were found during a small scale search on September 15.
Accompanied once again by an anthropologist from Minnesota State University, Murry says they found what were identified as three arm bones, a finger bone and two rib bones.
The bones have been sent to the Ramsey County Medical Examiner where Murry says they will look for any signs of trauma.
Bones found in previous searches showed no signs of trauma and the BCA were able to use DNA testing to confirm they belong to the 26-year-old man. However in this case, no DNA testing will be done due to a backlog of cases at the BCA.
The assumption are the bones belong to Albrecht.
With winter around the corner, Murry anticipates this would be the final search of the year unless new leads into Albrecht’s disappearance surface.
“As long as leads come in, we’ll follow up,” said Murry.
But to this point all leads in the case have not led to the break in the case needed to determine a cause of death.
“Nothing solid,” Murry said of the leads they have received so far.
Albrecht was last seen on April 26, 2010 after walking away from fixing his vehicle with his father on a Mankato city street. A dog returned to his yard along West Raven Rock Road on December 4 with what was determined on December 6 to be a human leg bone. A search on December 8 is hampered by heavy snow. The search resumed on May 6, 2011 where additional bones and personal effects of Albrecht are found. On May 11, 2011 the BCA search on the bone found in December 2010 confirms it belongs to Albrecht.