posted 07-30-2002 04:48 PM               

In 1993 I was moving from Portland, Or to Clearwater, FL and on the way I stopped in Arkansas to see my brother. During my short visit he told me about this story and said that there had been some media coverage. The location where the bones were found is just a little less than a mile from where he lives. It wasn't until three years later that he faxed me a copy of an article written in The Tecumseh County Newspaper (Oklahoma) that included a very poor photo of the remains (I was unable to really make anything out the photo). Anyway, this is just another one of those strange unsolved mysteries that you pigenhole until something comes along, or not, that suddenly makes it make sense.

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MYSTERY BONES INTRIGUE STUDENTS

By Paula Dobbs

Suppose you were hunting and came across skeletal remains. Would you take the time to look at it closely or just walk off? At first glance, you can see that it is not human, but something about it caught your attention.

This is what happened to Charleston, Arkansas resident Frank Pryor last November. Two days after spotting some strange remains, he went back to take one last look. Oddities caught his attention and he made the decision to take it home for further study. He needed a second opinion and took the remains to Charleston High School were five teachers studied them in amazement. None of the teachers were able to give more than guesses and the idea that it was possibly a deformity. This began his travel.

Finding skeletal remains is not uncommon. For centuries people have discovered and analyzed skeletal structures. Museums display the skeletons so that others can get an idea of the size and what the animal may have looked like. Specialists determine the size, age and era of the skeleton. But what happens when the experts can't identify it? You go to another expert.

In the meantime, Pryor has made several school presentations including one Feb 27 to Mary Hennigar's biology class at Tecumseh High School. He plans more school presentations and more experts' opinions to determine the orign of these remains. Pryor has received phone calls from many people wanting to see the remains, including Geraldo, who is studying the films and documentations for a possible story.

Pryor told the class he has taken the remains to at lest 12 professors and specialists from various colleges and universities in Arkansas and Oklhoma. Several tests have been performed on the remains. They have determined that the creature had been dead five to six weeks before it was found. Its head is round like a mountain lion. Its eye sockets are very large compared to the size of its head and its teeth are very strong. The ribs are rounded and fin-like verticle bones begin at the neck and follow the spine and rib cage all the way to the hip. It was probably male due to the narrow hips, and possibly stood on its hind legs like a knagaroo. It was approximately five feet tall.

The remains were filmed by Channel 9 and aired January 6. At the time it was thought that the creature was probably a llama. Pryor took the remains to Dr. Ben H. Baker of Arkansas Veterinarian Clinic. Dr. Baker works with llamas and he determined that it was not likely to be a llama. One specilaist commented that it was a meat eater: "From looking at the teeth, he could have eaten anything he wanted."

Each specialist who examined the remains found something different. The neck was cut open to examine the spinal cord, when it appeared to be perhaps the camel or deer family. But that was another dead end - it was not from either of these families.

"Hairlike fibers" found nearby were sent to the OU museum and zoology department. Tests were done on the fibers and they were also tested for DNA and were found to hve no DNA. Since all living things have DNA, the mystery becme stronger.

From OU, the fibers were sent to Greg Fox, a DNA specialist in California. He, again, found that the fibers had no DNA. He described them as being structured like metal but no metal was found in them. They were not hair, cloth, or metal. Each fiber was exactly the same with no variations.

When asked what made him pursue these findings, Pryor said, "I've always had an interest in science and this is very exciting to me. I don't have a clue what it is but I'm enjoying the challenge of finding out."

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