Coroner: Montana bones do not belong to Skelton Brothers

Missoula County, Montana (WNWO) Investigators have been able to conclusively rule out the Skelton brothers in the discovery of bone fragments in a Montana shed.

The bones and teeth of three children were found in September.

An anthropologist estimated the children's ages to be 2-4 years old, 5-8 years old and 6-10 years old.

Michigan State Police joined the investigation in December to find out whether the remains could be linked to the 2010 disappearance of three Michigan brothers.

Tanner, Alexander and Andrew Skelton were 5, 7 and 9 when they were last seen at their father's Morenci, Michigan, home in November 2010.

The coronor's office worked with Missoula City Police Detectives, Pathologists at the Montana State Crime Lab, Anthropology Department of the University of

Montana, the University of North Texas (UNT) Center for Human Identification and have ruled out the Skelton boys as well as a missing 11-year-old from Washington.

The report suggests the bone samples are a century old, and had been buried for some time before being uncovered and exposed to the elements.

One of the specimens could be from someone with Asian ancestry.

The Missoula County Coroner's Office hearts and prayers go out to the families of those who live with the pain and loss of having a missing family member.