Human remains unearthed during drainage work in Putnam County
State police are pursuing a possible major break in the decades-old case of a missing teen in Putnam County now that skeletal remains were found not far from where she disappeared.
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State police are pursuing a possible major break in the decades-old case of a missing teen in Putnam County now that skeletal remains were found not far from where she disappeared.
The case of 17-year-old Robin Murphy has been a mystery for nearly 30 years. She went missing from Brewster in 1995, right around the same time as 12-year-old Josette Wright.
Wright’s body was found but Murphy’s never was.
State police say they’re investigating a possible lead after decayed human skeletal remains were found on Ice Pond Road on April 16. The discovery was made not far from where Wright’s body was also discovered years ago.
Authorities say they’re working to identify the remains, and that the case is in the infancy stages.
News 12 was given a photo of the discovery, which is being blurred, by a person who said a crew was digging along the road for drainage when they unearthed bones and tattered clothes and flagged a town worker driving by for help.
Murphy’s unsolved case has garnered intense local interest over the years, including the creation of a Facebook page dedicated to finding out what happened to the teen.
“Her family has been through a lot and it would be amazing to close the case and get some justice,” said the page administrator, who asked not to be identified due to privacy concerns.
Howard Gombert, who is serving prison time in Connecticut for rape, has been a longtime police suspect but authorities said there was never enough evidence to charge him.
Gombert was also named as the alleged killer in Wright’s case by two men who were charged with her rape and murder and later acquitted.
State police say they’re now working to identify the remains. It's a potential break that volunteer searchers hope will unfold for the family’s sake.
“If this is the case,” says Hope Alive 845 founder Domingo Ramos, “now they can bring their child home.”
