The Salem City Council gave final approval to asking for a state permit to exhume the body of an unknown victim of the 1971 Tonti Train Wreck.
University of Missouri-Columbia Journalism Student Henry Morton of Salem put together the project and was commended for his work by the city council. Morton in turn thanked the city.
“Thank you so much for going along with this and being so willing to help with this project,” Morton said. “I also just want to say that everybody is just really excited about this. The people I’m working with at the DNA Doe Project, the forensic anthropologists, the local businesses, the tourism board and everybody that’s helping me here. Also, the people I’m going to be working with on the documentary about this, they’re also really excited. I just think this is something really special… I feel confident that we’re going to be able to get this done.”
The goal is to use new DNA technology to check databases to try and learn the identity of the victim. Much of the services are being donated while the Salem Tourism Board has agreed to pick up the remainder of the cost. In addition to giving the family peace of mind if an identification can be made, the project is expected to focus a lot of attention on Salem.
The project could start as soon as May.
