Human remains found in Warm Springs last month have been identified as Tina Spino, a woman who was reported missing last summer, police said.
Police Chief Bill Elliott said officers were dispatched on January 12th to a remote location along Tenino Road after someone reported finding a skull.
Officers met with the caller who said they noticed a round item on the ground while salvaging some wood from an old dock. The caller said they rolled the item with their foot and realized it was a human skull.
Tribal officers secured the site, and detectives did a cursory search of the area and located several other bones that were of interest, Elliott said.
The FBI was notified and agents from the Bend office and Evidence Response Team (ERT) responded to work with the tribal police in processing the site.
A cadaver dog was requested from another local agency to assist in the search of the area.
The remains were collected by WSTPD Detectives, the Special Agents from FBI, and the FBI Evidence Recovery Team.
The collected remains were submitted to the medical examiner’s office for forensic evaluation, and with the help of dental records and DNA sampling, the remains are believed to be those of Spino, who was 58-years-old at the time of her disappearance.
She was reported missing on August 8th last year and “whose case has been vigorously pursued to this date,” Elliott said.
“This department has assured the family that we will continue to piece together the circumstances surrounding her death, and to that end we are asking for the public at large to report any sightings or conversations with Ms Spino during the time period around her disappearance during the month of August of 2020,” he said.
If anyone has any information regarding this matter, please contact WSTPD investigations at 541-553-2202, or WSTPD office at 541-553-1172.
