Authorities ID skeletal remains in Ottawa County found in February
BY SHEILA STOGSDILL World Correspondent
Monday, December 17, 2012
MIAMI, Okla. – Skeletal remains found in an abandoned community in the Tar Creek area of Ottawa County were identified as 22-year-old Joshua Sousa, according to the state’s Medical Examiner’s office.
The cause and manner of death are pending, said agency spokeswoman Amy Elliott.
Sousa’s remains were found in February in the Cardin. According to his obituary, he lived in neighboring community of Treece, Kan., which near the Kansas-Oklahoma border, about two miles north of Cardin.
At the time the remains were discovered, Ottawa County deputies said the skull appeared to have suffered a gunshot wound and a .22-caliber rifle was found at the scene.
Lead pollution lead to a federally funded buyout of Cardin, Picher and Treece. All three communities were once prosperous mining towns in northern Ottawa County.
