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Bones found in Montana not those of 3 missing Michigan brothers

Posted at 11:12 AM, Feb 10, 2018
and last updated 2018-02-10 11:14:04-05

MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — Officials say the remains of three children found in Montana last year are not those of three Michigan brothers who went missing in 2010.

The Missoula County Sheriff’s Office says in a news release that after scientific testing and comparisons of teeth found in September to dental records, scientists determined the remains are not those of Andrew, Alexander and Tanner Skelton. In fact, the testing indicates that the samples found in Missoula were at least 99 years old.

The boys, ages 9, 7 and 5, were last seen at their father’s southern Michigan home. The father, John Skelton, is serving 10 to 15 years in prison after pleading no contest to unlawful imprisonment in connection with his sons’ disappearance.

He’s told police he didn’t harm the boys.

Even though there was no connection between the Michigan boys’ disappearance and Montana, authorities tested the remains because an anthropologist estimated that the remains were from children of similar ages to the brothers.