MORENCI, Mich. -- Michigan State Police say there's a possible breakthrough in one of the state's highest profile cases Thursday night. Police say the remains of three children were found in Montana that match the ages of the Skelton brothers who went missing in 2010 out of Morenci, Michigan.
Detective Lieutenant Jeremy Brewer has been on the case since 2013. Brewer tells FOX 17 they have no information that connects these boys to to the skeletal remains found in Montana, other than matching the ages of the missing boys.
It's the case of Andrew, Alexander and Taylor Skelton who have been missing since Thanksgiving 2010. They were 9, 7 and 5 when they disappeared.
In September, bones and teeth were found in a shed in Missoula, Montana. The Missoulian, a local newspaper, reported the remains were found by a cleaning crew after a resident was evicted.
"Initially, when you hear of skeletal remains found of three children all in the same place and the age ranges are within kind of the same age ranges of our missing boys when it first happened it is very interesting to us," said Brewer.
He says their investigation hasn't found a connection to Montana, but they're watching the case closely.
“If we feel there’s any connection whatsoever we’ll be on the first plane to Montana, there’s no doubt about that, we just don’t have that type of information yet at our disposal if something like that is warranted," said Brewer. "I know that Michigan State Police would do everything in our power to coordinate with Montana if in fact we have a connection, we just haven’t seen that yet.”
Brewer hopes to know more within the next few days, saying this case has been on everyone's minds since they went missing.
“Bringing closure to them is a huge thing for us and we want to be able to do that for them and the community," Brewer said.
The boys' father, John Skelton, is behind bars after pleading no contest for unlawful imprisonment charges. He told police, he gave the boys to an organization to protect them from their mother while the couple was going through a divorce. However, authorities have not proven the group exists.
The brothers' mother, Tanya Zuvyers has said while she's holding onto hope her sons are alive, she realizes that's probably not the case and that instead, she'll see them in Heaven.
