Hunter Discovers Skull, Scattered Bones Of Man Missing For Over A Year

A hunter stumbled upon a skull and scattered bones in Jefferson County that were later confirmed to be the remains of a 39-year-old man who disappeared in Missouri last year.

The remains belonged to Jerry Crew who was reported missing on April 29, 2021, according to a statement issued by Jefferson County Sheriff's Office Tuesday.

The initial investigation reached a dead-end until a 911 caller reported finding what was suspected to be a human skull in the woods near Rutledge Road in Dittmer on Nov. 11, Kansas City Star reported.

"On Friday, November 11th a hunter found what he suspected was a human skull in a wooded area near the 8500 block of Rutledge Road in Dittmer," the sheriff's office wrote in the statement. "He found other suspected human bones nearby. The hunter called 911 and investigators confirmed the discovery."

While officials were able to determine the remains belonged to Crew, they didn't confirm his exact cause of death.

"Dental records confirmed the remains to be those of Jerry Crew of Cedar Hill," the sheriff's office added.

During the investigation at the time, officials suspected foul play in Crew's death, who was last seen at a home in Cedar Hill. In May 2021, roughly a month after Crew disappeared, cops arrived at his last known location after obtaining a warrant. As the police arrived the scene, a deadly shootout took place after a man named Anthony Legens opened fire at the deputies.

While exchanging gunfire with the deputies, Legens struck and wounded a SWAT officer before he was fatally struck.

"Legens was subsequently killed during an exchange of gunfire," the sheriff's office said in a statement.

Deputies then searched the house and found a dead body, which they determined wasn't Crew. In June 2021, the sheriff's office confirmed the body belonged to a woman named Tanya Gould.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Tanya Gould (31) of Cedar Hill, Mo. Tanya was discovered while Deputies were searching a home with a Search Warrant (in an attempt to locate her and Jerry Crew also of Cedar Hill). Our investigation continues into the whereabouts of Jerry Crew," the sheriff's office said at the time.

Department spokesman Grant Bissell also stated that Legens was suspected to have killed Gould, but it wasn't confirmed, according to St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

After about a year with little updates to share, the sheriff's office located Crew's remains after the unidentified hunter discovered them.

Crew was a "known associate of Legens," Bissell revealed, according to the outlet.

It remained unclear whether Legens was involved in Crew's death.

" ... Unfortunately both of those people are no longer with us to ask questions of, so that obviously makes it a little more difficult," Bissell said.