One year after a Herkimer woman disappeared near the Mohawk River, a canine search team Saturday found what are believed to be human remains in that same area, state police said.
Troop D Capt. Francis Coots confirmed Saturday evening that a team from Eagle Valley Search Dogs found the remains while searching a wooded area near Lowe’s Home Improvement on Route 5.
The all-volunteer team was searching the area at the request of relatives of Lisa (Bawolak) Hawkins, 44, who was first reported missing in August 2009.
“We did find what we believe are human remains,” Coots said Saturday. “Obviously, we won’t know until an autopsy is performed, but we are confident they are human.”
The autopsy was performed Sunday, Herkimer County Coroner Daniel Enea said via a telephone interview. Enea said the identity as well as the cause of death for the remains are both pending.
“We should have answers within a week,” Enea said.
Those results will determine how state police proceed with the case.
But, “we may never know the direct cause of death,” Coots added.
A team of trained search dogs began scouring the area between the railroad tracks and the river in Herkimer at about 8 a.m. Saturday and made their discovery sometime that afternoon, Coots said.
State police remained at the scene Saturday evening, however, and had secured it from the public.
Coots would not elaborate on what exactly was found, but said it was not an entire body, the remains had not been buried and they were “consistent with someone being in that spot for a long time.”
He said it was too early to speculate on whether the remains did indeed belong to Hawkins, who was last seen alive on Aug. 5, 2009, in that same vicinity.
Hawkins' sister, Bonnie Millar, of Ilion, said Saturday evening that she was “99 percent” certain that the remains would prove to be those of her sister, who was being treated for paranoid schizophrenia at the time of her disappearance
Millar, who was at the search scene Saturday with two of Hawkins' three children, said police told her about 95 percent of a body was recovered and that initial autopsy results could be available as early as Tuesday.
A day earlier, she had said that she hoped her sister’s remains were found despite the fact that such a discovery would put to rest any possibility of her being found alive.
“At this point, I think we all believe that Lisa has passed on,” Millar said. “I think we’re sort of hoping that we can find her remains so we do have closure, especially for her children.”
The family held a small memorial service earlier this month to commemorate the anniversary of Hawkins' disappearance, but would have to wait several years to have her legally declared dead without finding her body, Millar said.
Aerial and ground searches were performed by state police in the same area last year immediately after Hawkins' disappearance, but without success.
Millar said Saturday that she feels police did not fully commit to the search for her sister because of her personal history and mental illness.
But Coots said it’s not unusual for searchers to miss something when covering such a large area.
“We looked for weeks,” he said. “Did we step over her? Did we walk around her? Who knows.”
THE HISTORY
Linda Roemer, sister of Hawkins, came to The Telegram in October of 2009 and said she and her family had come to grips at that time “that their sister most likely drowned in the West Canada Creek on the day she went swimming.” Roemer also told The Telegram a burial plot had been purchased for Lisa and they wanted to put a body there, rather than leaving it empty.
In April of 2010, the family again approached The Telegram to update the story of Hawkins.
“Our sister is still missing. She is still out there,” said Barbara Lowell during the April interview. “All we want is closure, and we hope that someone will come forward with information so we can have it.”
THE SEARCH
(Editor’s note: The following is a report that appeared on www.evdogs.org on the search for Lisa).
In July 2010 it came to the attention of the team that there was missing woman from Herkimer who has been missing since Aug. 2009.
We were requested by the family to help look for their missing sister, Lisa. This became a joint effort between Eagle Valley Search Dogs and New Jersey Search and Rescue.
The search date was set for Aug. 28. Karen Pardini and I arrive the day before to meet with the family and discussed some strategies and walk the area of PLS (point last seen).
Saturday morning all dogs and teams arrived at staging, and were given assignments. There were three teams in the field, I stay back with Scout until needed and Karen stays to run communications.
Approximately three hours later Karen gets a radio communication from Task 3 which is Sue Lavoie and her dog Summer along with Bob Langendoen both from New Jersey Search and Rescue, they will notify Karen via land line.
The call comes and Karen gives a thumb up. Sue Lavoie and her dog Summer have made the find, this is what we train for!
I contacted the State Police and the family. They have been waiting for a year living with interrupted grieving, now they can go forward and have closure. The family arrives. It’s a bitter-sweet emotional moment for everyone. This “cold case” comes alive, Lisa Hawkins is no longer just a name and a picture stapled to a telephone pole. She is a woman with family, friends, and ties to a community.
Congratulations to Sue Lavoie and her dog Summer and to all that participated.
Lorraine Heath, Telegram/Times Editor, contributed to this story.
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One year after a Herkimer woman disappeared near the Mohawk River, a canine search team Saturday found what are believed to be human remains in that same area, state police said.
Troop D Capt. Francis Coots confirmed Saturday evening that a team from Eagle Valley Search Dogs found the remains while searching a wooded area near Lowe’s Home Improvement on Route 5.
The all-volunteer team was searching the area at the request of relatives of Lisa (Bawolak) Hawkins, 44, who was first reported missing in August 2009.
“We did find what we believe are human remains,” Coots said Saturday. “Obviously, we won’t know until an autopsy is performed, but we are confident they are human.”
The autopsy was performed Sunday, Herkimer County Coroner Daniel Enea said via a telephone interview. Enea said the identity as well as the cause of death for the remains are both pending.
“We should have answers within a week,” Enea said.
Those results will determine how state police proceed with the case.
But, “we may never know the direct cause of death,” Coots added.
A team of trained search dogs began scouring the area between the railroad tracks and the river in Herkimer at about 8 a.m. Saturday and made their discovery sometime that afternoon, Coots said.
State police remained at the scene Saturday evening, however, and had secured it from the public.
Coots would not elaborate on what exactly was found, but said it was not an entire body, the remains had not been buried and they were “consistent with someone being in that spot for a long time.”
He said it was too early to speculate on whether the remains did indeed belong to Hawkins, who was last seen alive on Aug. 5, 2009, in that same vicinity.
Hawkins' sister, Bonnie Millar, of Ilion, said Saturday evening that she was “99 percent” certain that the remains would prove to be those of her sister, who was being treated for paranoid schizophrenia at the time of her disappearance
Millar, who was at the search scene Saturday with two of Hawkins' three children, said police told her about 95 percent of a body was recovered and that initial autopsy results could be available as early as Tuesday.
A day earlier, she had said that she hoped her sister’s remains were found despite the fact that such a discovery would put to rest any possibility of her being found alive.
“At this point, I think we all believe that Lisa has passed on,” Millar said. “I think we’re sort of hoping that we can find her remains so we do have closure, especially for her children.”
The family held a small memorial service earlier this month to commemorate the anniversary of Hawkins' disappearance, but would have to wait several years to have her legally declared dead without finding her body, Millar said.
Aerial and ground searches were performed by state police in the same area last year immediately after Hawkins' disappearance, but without success.
Millar said Saturday that she feels police did not fully commit to the search for her sister because of her personal history and mental illness.
But Coots said it’s not unusual for searchers to miss something when covering such a large area.
“We looked for weeks,” he said. “Did we step over her? Did we walk around her? Who knows.”
THE HISTORY
Linda Roemer, sister of Hawkins, came to The Telegram in October of 2009 and said she and her family had come to grips at that time “that their sister most likely drowned in the West Canada Creek on the day she went swimming.” Roemer also told The Telegram a burial plot had been purchased for Lisa and they wanted to put a body there, rather than leaving it empty.
In April of 2010, the family again approached The Telegram to update the story of Hawkins.
“Our sister is still missing. She is still out there,” said Barbara Lowell during the April interview. “All we want is closure, and we hope that someone will come forward with information so we can have it.”
THE SEARCH
(Editor’s note: The following is a report that appeared on www.evdogs.org on the search for Lisa).
In July 2010 it came to the attention of the team that there was missing woman from Herkimer who has been missing since Aug. 2009.
We were requested by the family to help look for their missing sister, Lisa. This became a joint effort between Eagle Valley Search Dogs and New Jersey Search and Rescue.
The search date was set for Aug. 28. Karen Pardini and I arrive the day before to meet with the family and discussed some strategies and walk the area of PLS (point last seen).
Saturday morning all dogs and teams arrived at staging, and were given assignments. There were three teams in the field, I stay back with Scout until needed and Karen stays to run communications.
Approximately three hours later Karen gets a radio communication from Task 3 which is Sue Lavoie and her dog Summer along with Bob Langendoen both from New Jersey Search and Rescue, they will notify Karen via land line.
The call comes and Karen gives a thumb up. Sue Lavoie and her dog Summer have made the find, this is what we train for!
I contacted the State Police and the family. They have been waiting for a year living with interrupted grieving, now they can go forward and have closure. The family arrives. It’s a bitter-sweet emotional moment for everyone. This “cold case” comes alive, Lisa Hawkins is no longer just a name and a picture stapled to a telephone pole. She is a woman with family, friends, and ties to a community.
Congratulations to Sue Lavoie and her dog Summer and to all that participated.
Lorraine Heath, Telegram/Times Editor, contributed to this story.
