Human remains found in Hoke woods

Fort Bragg soldiers participating in a training exercise Tuesday evening discovered human remains in southern Hoke County, authorities said.

The soldiers and Hoke County deputies were taking part in a joint training mission – part of the Robin Sage field exercise – when they came across the remains in a wooded area off the 600 block of North Hilltop Road, near Wagram, Sheriff Hubert Peterkin said.

The remains were scattered throughout a densely covered area that has no roads, Peterkin said, and they appeared to have been in the area for a while.

"It's absolutely human remains," Cap. John Kivett of the Hoke County Sheriff's Office said. "We have found just about a whole skeletal remain, so we know it's not an animal."

Deputies spent much of Wednesday searching the area for evidence in what they called a death investigation, and pathologists and experts from the North Carolina State Medical Examiner’s Office joined in the effort.

The remains were taken back to the medical examiner's office in Raleigh, where authorities said they hope forensic teams can use dental records to help identify the person and that an examination can determine a cause of death.

The find has sparked the interest of investigators in nearby Cumberland County, where three missing persons case remain open. One of those is Kelli Bordeaux, a Fort Bragg soldier who disappeared in April 2012 after visiting a Fayetteville bar.