Dental records confirm human remains are Independence man missing since August, police say
Investigators have confirmed human remains found this week in a field off U.S. Highway 40 in Kansas City were those of an Independence man who went missing in August, Independence police said.
Investigators used dental records to confirm the remains, which were found Tuesday, were the body of 41-year-old Andre Martinez, said Officer Bryan Conley, a spokesman for the Independence Police Department.
The remains had decomposed, and investigators believe Martinez died the day he went missing — Aug. 29 — or the following day, he said.
Conley said the death is being investigated as a homicide, and police will work to determine a cause of death.
Conley said a search party of 70 people combed a green belt nestled in the middle of housing developments off the highway, a short distance from the Executive Inn & Suites, where Martinez was last seen in August.
The case’s lead investigator had received “credible information” that prompted the search this week, he said. The remains were found in the middle of a field.
“It looks populated, there are lots of houses and apartments around there, however, when you’re out there, you can’t see any of that,” Conley said. “You feel like you’re way out in the sticks.”
Anyone with information about Martinez’s death may reach investigators by calling the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS.
