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Skull may be clue in Willison disappearance case

A hunter found the skull in a field near U.S. 40 and Houston Pike.

Bill Lackey Faith Willison

$Clark County sheriff's detectives searched a field and creek area south of Interstate 70 in Harmony Twp. Monday after a human skull was discovered by a hunter. The discovery was made about a half-mile from where 56-year-old Faith Willison's car was located in June 2010. She has been missing since then. A pathologist will examine the skull today in Columbus to try to identify it.\uFEFF Staff photo by Marshall Gorby$

Clark County sheriff's detectives searched a field and creek area south of Interstate 70 in Harmony Twp. Monday after a human skull was discovered by a hunter. The discovery was made about a half-mile from where 56-year-old Faith Willison's car was located in June 2010. She has been missing since then. A pathologist will examine the skull today in Columbus to try to identify it.\uFEFF Staff photo by Marshall Gorby

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By Jessica Heffner, Staff Writer Updated 11:46 PM Monday, November 21, 2011

HARMONY TWP. — Authorities are investigating whether a human skull found in a Clark County field over the weekend is that of a missing local woman.

Sheriff’s deputies said the skull was found Saturday by a hunter tracking deer near U.S. 40 and Houston Pike. The site is about a half-mile from where Faith Willison, 56, went missing in June 2010.

Willison’s car was found abandoned in a ditch in the 12400 block of East National Road. Her sandals were found outside the car, but there was no sign of injury and the airbags did not deploy, said Sheriff Gene Kelly.

A Frito-Lay delivery driver saw the crash scene and called 911. However, within 90 seconds of turning his vehicle around, Kelly said the driver reportedly vanished.

Deputies and the Bureau of Criminal Investigation combed the area for Willison last year. They used cadaver dogs and a plane to sweep the fields surrounding where the car was found, but were unable to locate her.

Rain and darkness prevented authorities from searching the area after the skull was found. Detectives spent Monday hunting along the creek bed, tree line and cornfields for clues. Other evidence connected to the Willison case has been collected in the area, but Kelly said it’s “part of the ongoing investigation.”

“We’re continuing to look and to see if there is any link between this human skull and Faith Willison,” he said.

A pathologist in Columbus will attempt to identify the remains and match dental records today, authorities said. While there’s no link yet, Willison family was notified of the discovery, Kelly said.

“Right now we want to make clear that there has been no positive identification. We need forensic help to do that,” he said.

Since Willison went missing, the tree near where her car was found served as a makeshift memorial. Today the tree was bare except for the patch of bark scraped from its trunk in the accident more than a year and a half ago.

“On that particular tree they had a picture of her. Occasionally you would see that someone had put a new picture up,” said Keith Miller, who lives down the road from where deputies searched Monday.

No other bones were located during Monday’s search.

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