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More Than 300 Human Bones Recovered At Linden Well

LINDEN (CBS13) – Death row inmate Wesley Shermantine claimed he could lead authorities to a "bone yard" filled with the remains of victims of him and his fellow murderer Loren Herzog. It appears he was telling the truth.

A map drawn by the convicted serial killer led authorities to an abandoned well, and investigators recovered at least 300 human bones, as well as a coat, shoes, a purse and jewelry by Sunday afternoon.

The remains will be sent to the Department of Justice in the hopes of identifying them through DNA testing, said San Joaquin Sheriff's spokesman Deputy Les Garcia said.

He and his childhood friend, Loren Herzog, were called the "Speed Freak Killers" for a methamphetamine-fueled killing spree that had as many as 15 victims.

Shermantine was convicted of four murders and sentenced to death. Herzog was convicted of three murders and sentenced to 77 years to life in prison, though that was later reduced to 14 years. An appeals court tossed his first-degree murder convictions after ruling his confession was illegally obtained.

Herzog was paroled in 2010 to a trailer outside the High Desert State Prison in Susanville. He committed suicide outside that trailer last month after Sacramento bounty hunter Leonard Padilla told him Shermantine was disclosing the location of the well along with two other locations.

The discovery of the human remains Sunday are the fourth straight day remains have been found with the help of Shermantine's map.

Garcia said dental records identified remains found Thursday in Calaveras County as those of 25-year-old Cyndi Vanderheiden, who disappeared in 1988.

Crews are expected to be searching the ranch in Linden for several days, at what Garcia has said would be a "slow and tedious" pace. The property, about 60 miles south of Sacramento, was once owned by Shermantine's family.

Investigators have established a hotline for family members who believe their loved ones may have fallen victim to Herzog or Shermantine at (209) 468-5087.

(Copyright 2012. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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