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Human Remains Found At Folsom Lake Provide Glimmer Of Hope To Families Of Missing

FOLSOM LAKE (CBS13) — Ever since human bones were found at Folsom Lake recently, family members of the missing are wondering if they could belong to their loved ones.

The remains were found on Friday by Veronica Pearson's 12-year-old son as he walked with her in the dry lake bed.

"We were literally in the middle of the lake where it should have been full-on water," she said. "There was a femur, tailbone, a cellphone."

Deputies say the bones seem to be at least 10 years old and it's not clear if they belong to a male or a female.

Pearson hopes the discovery helps a family searching for answers.

"It brings up a lot of emotions, you sit on pins and needles for identification of the remains," she said.

Deb Boyd is the mother of Christie Wilson, who authorities say was kidnapped from Thunder Valley Casino and killed in 2005. Mario Garcia was convicted in 2005 despite her body never being found.

"In the days prior to Mario Garcia's arrest, the cell phone towers put him in that very area, where those remains have been found," she said.

She says if it's not her daughter, she hopes it brings closure for another family.

"It brings back all of that desire for that person or those remains to be your loved one, so you that can actually move forward with full closure," she said.

Frank Wilcox is also looking for closure after his brother died in a 1960s plane crash.

"Somewhere in this lake are my brother's remains, so every time the lake drops like this, it just kills me," he said.

Authorities say those remains have now been transferred up to Chico State for a forensic analysis. It could take weeks or even months for them to come up with an identification.

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