Human Remains Found Beneath Collapsed Barn Believed to Be Missing Werthingham Girls
In what may be the final chapter in a decades-old missing persons case, Sheriff Walt Emming confirmed that two sets of human remains were recovered following the collapse of a building on the Werthingham estate property, which has been unoccupied since 1998.
Recently, a barn visible from Old Mill Road was spotted by residents, with walls having collapsed in and the roof partially torn off. Deeming the structure condemned, Far Hollow locals tried to contact the attorney for the Werthingham estate, which holds the property despite it having been abandoned. Having declared the structure a risk, city managers razed it and were removing the remaining support posts when the grisly discovery was made.
Collapsing barn on Old Mill Road / staff photo
“The barn was apparently built over a previous standing structure,” City Manager Todd Barnett told the Gazette. “These posts went down a good eight, nine feet or so, and when they came up, they brought up hair and pieces of clothing. We ceased our activities and notified the Sheriff’s department and state investigators.”
Jessica and Rose, the Werthingham girls, sisters aged 7 and 9, went missing in 1993, kicking off one of the largest civilian search efforts in town history. Law enforcement organized over eight hundred searchers, including volunteers from Berwick and Orransburg, in an effort to locate the girls, who it was believed had been playing on the West side of the property—completely opposite where the remains were discovered.
“I’ve spoken to detectives who worked the disappearance, Sheriff Emming told the Gazette, “And those men all say the barn and outerbuildings were extensively searched. We have reports establishing that. It would appear now that not all the information given by the parents was truthful.”
The parents, Tyler and Jocelyn Werthingham, appeared on television news and made repeated pleas for their childrens’ return once the search went cold. In 1998, they left Far Hollow and moved out of state. Jocelyn Werthingham died of cancer in 2010, while Tyler passed in 2013 of a heart attack. At the time of the disappearance, there were no suspects and the possibility of an animal attack just off the property was speculated, though no evidence of such was discovered. No charges were ever filed, and according to statements from retired officers, the Werthinghams were never considered suspects and cooperated extensively in the investigation. The clothing and remains were flown to Albany, where the state Medical Examiner’s office will try to determine the girls’ cause of death, and if a new investigation will be opened to try and determine exactly what happened to sisters who locals at the time described as, “Part of the perfect family.”
