The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office announced this afternoon that human remains found by a logging crew near the Grantham community Wednesday afternoon are not that of Cole Thomas.
At 2:16pm Wednesday, a crew cutting timber found the remains in a wooded area in the 600 block of Falling Creek Church Road. The remains were sent to the NC Medical Examiner’s Office in Raleigh.
A preliminary report today said the remains are a male approximately 30 years of age with a full-length rod in the left femur. The age was based on bone density and metal fillings in the teeth. The race of the individual has not been determined. The preliminary report excluded the remains as those of Cole Thomas.
Thomas, 22, disappeared on November 25, 2016 in Benson. Cole, an honor student in high school in Florida, had been working as an electrician in Minnesota before a 17-hour 1,100 mile trip during Thanksgiving brought him to eastern North Carolina. Four men were later charged in connection with his disappearance but the charges were later dropped. His body has never been found. Authorities believe foul play is involved in his disappearance.
Anyone who may have information about the human remains found Wednesday is asked to contact the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office at 919-731-1480.
Anyone with information on this disappearance of Cole Thomas is asked to contact the Benson Police Department at 919-894-2091 or the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation – Raleigh Office at 919-779-8188.
