According to the Osage County Sheriff’s Office, human remains have been found in rural Osage County.
The Osage County undersheriff told FOX23 that the remains are believed to be those of missing Bartlesville man, Timothy Allen Hauser. According to authorities, the body had clothing similar to Hauser’s when he went missing.
A hunter searching for a deer he shot on Friday found the skeletal remains about three miles outside of Bartlesville and a half mile from Highway 60 along County Road 3425. He called 911.
"There was some heavy brush but, I could see the entire skeleton," said hunter, Travis Merchant.
Hauser's niece, Melanie Anderson, got a phone call from the sheriff's office telling her they found her uncle. She has coordinated search parties for the last five months. She had combed the exact area where Merchant found the remains.
"I was relieved when I heard he was found," said Anderson. "It's hard to swallow though that we missed him in this area because we looked here over and over. His wallet was found in August just 1,000 feet from where Travis found him yesterday (Saturday)."
The terrain has changed between August and December. The grass has died down and been eaten by the cattle that were on the private property over the summer.
"When its spring, summer, and parts of fall that grass is tall and thick and it's hard to see anything in the brush," said Merchant.
Anderson was grateful for Merchant's immediate action and thankful for the intense work from the investigators on her uncle's case.
"Now we can focus on the people involved with his murder," said Anderson.
On August 9th, the 62-year-old was last seen walking out of a Bartlesville Casino around 1:30 in the morning with two people.
Trysta Shaffer and Rusty Petty were seen on video with Hauser leaving the casino. Osage County investigators found text messages that revealed the two were planning to rob Hauser. They each admitted to beating him but neither would confess who made the fatal blow.
Both Shaffer and Petty are each being held on a $1 million dollar bond. Their charges could change this week, from robbery to murder charges.
Their preliminary hearing is February 7th, 2013 at 1:00p.m.
Osage County officials said the State Medical Examiner will determine whether Hauser’s body has been found.
