Thirty-seven years after he went missing, authorities have found the bones of a Grand Isle man.
Lester Rome was 58 years old when he was reported missing to Jefferson Parish authorities in 1984.
A couple years later, a homeowner miles away in Sabine Parish found human skeletal remains in a well on his property.
Decades after that, in October 2013, the LSU Forsensic Anthropology and Computer Enhancement Services lab (FACES) made a possible connection between the remains pulled from the well and Rome.
The skeletal remains had shotgun pellets embedded in the pelvic area, police say. Rome had been shot in the abdomen area with a shotgun some years prior to when he went missing.
Then in December 2020, former D.A. Investigator Ted Delacerda gave several news clippings and photographs about the case to the Sabine Parish Sheriff’s Office.
In February 2021, with the current landowner’s permission, Sabine Parish Sheriff Detectives attempted to recover more skeletal remains from the well by mechanical means but were unsuccessful.
In April 2021, with help from Central Sabine Fire Department’s confined space entry team personnel, more skeletal remains and other items of evidence were recovered from inside the well.
And yesterday, on October 18, the mystery of Rome's disappearance was solved when Sabine Parish Coroner Dr. Mark Holder issued a Fact of Death Certificate stating the skeletal remains recovered from the well were those of Lester Rome. Next of kin has been notified.
Sabine Parish Sheriff Detectives are still investigating this case and searching for more information that may lead to the person(s) responsible for the death of Lester Rome.
Here's the Sabine Parish Sheriff post about the case:
