City to hold public meeting on investigation into Oakwood Cemetery remains

The Parks and Recreation Department has scheduled a virtual community meeting for 6 p.m., Sept. 19 to provide updates on the effort to conduct DNA and isotopic analysis of the unidentified remains discovered in 2016 during construction work at Oakwood Cemetery. The analysis work is being conducted free of charge by archaeology teams from the University of Texas and the University of Connecticut in the hopes of learning more about the life experiences, diets and regions of origin of the remains. The researchers’ work is expected to continue for two more years, and those who think they may have familial connections to the deceased may submit a saliva sample for DNA analysis. More information on the Oakwood Cemetery project and registration for the online meeting are available online.