
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, July 3, 1994                   TAG: 9407030022
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B8   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: BIG STONE GAP                                LENGTH: Short

BONES IN FIELD MAY BE MISSING WOMAN'S

A man clearing a field just west of Big Stone Gap for hay harvesting found bones that police say may be those of a woman missing since 1990.

The man also found tattered clothing and identification carrying the name of Barbara Beard. Beard has been missing since Jan. 5, 1990, when she apparently left her sister's home near the Wise-Lee county line. She was in her mid-50s.

The home is one-quarter of a mile from where the remains were found Thursday, said David Mullins, the chief investigator for the Wise County Sheriff's Office.

"We suspect we know who the person is," he said.

Mullins said a medical examiner must determine whether the partial remains are Beard's. They have been sent to the state medical examiner's office in Roanoke.

Officials hope the medical examiner will be able to determine a cause of death, Mullins said. Beard was taking medication for depression at the time she was reported missing, he said.

by CNB