Body positively identified as Powell man

The Wyoming State Crime Laboratory in Cheyenne positively identified a badly decomposed body found in the Yellowtail Wildlife Habitat Area on Sept. 11 as Dustin Lee Wall, 33, of Park County.According to Big Horn County Sheriff Ken Blackburn, DNA contributed by close family members helped authorities positively identify the body, which was found by Park Ranger Ben Shubert during a routine patrol of the area.Blackburn said the body was initially identified as Wall, since it matched his description and was found near a vehicle registered to him. Investigators withdrew that positive identification when they learned that dental records and other identifying information provided by Wall’s family did not match.“The remains found out near Horseshoe Bend were identified as Dustin Wall through positive DNA comparisons,” said Blackburn. “As far as the discrepancies are concerned, it could have been a very simple error at the dental office, where someone checked a wrong box regarding which teeth were extracted and which were not, but the DNA doesn’t lie.”The Department of Criminal Investigation and sheriff’s department investigators jointly investigated the case. Blackburn said positive identification from the lab was received on Thursday, Oct. 1.“This is not like a television show where you submit the DNA and have the results back within a one hour episode,” said Blackburn. “There is only one lab in Wyoming and it takes a lot more time for the results.”He said it is still uncertain what caused Wall’s death, adding that no foul play is suspected in the case. Based on evidence at the scene, it appeared that Wall’s white 1998 Ford Explorer broke down and he was attempting to repair it. Though only about a mile away from a highway, Blackburn said the vehicle was out of sight enough that it didn’t attract attention for a few days. Wall was reported missing by family members on Aug. 8 but not found until several weeks later.“We are glad to be able to close this case out for the family and our hearts go out to them in this time of loss,” said Blackburn.

By Patti Carpenter