Skater Photo May Be Key to Arlington Mystery

A decade-old photo of a young figure skater found in a burial urn may be the key to identifying a veteran’s remains discovered in an Arlington National Cemetery mass grave a year ago. The photo of the girl, who is about 11 to 13 years old, was in a plastic bag found in the urn of ashes, The Washington Post reported.

The urn was one of eight found in the mass grave that ignited a scandal over the running of the nation’s most hallowed military cemetery. Investigators have so far identified three sets of remains found and concluded that four others cannot be identified. Investigators believe the girl may be a close relative of the deceased and surmise finding her identity could lead to the identity of the veteran, the Post reported.

“We just don’t know,” said Christopher Grey, a spokesman for the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division, told the Post. Investigators have released the photo to the public in hopes of identifying it.

Investigators, using advertisements shown in the background, have determined the photo was taken between March 1999 and March 2000 at a skating competition at the Ice Works rink in Ashton, Pa., outside of Philadelphia. However, the trail has gone cold.

Investigators have travelled to the rink, questioned skaters and coaches and posted fliers, all to no avail. Stephane Charbonneau, the Ice Works general manager, told the Post that about 3 million people a year use the facility. “We have all kinds of tournaments,” he said. “We get people from all over: Florida, Michigan, Canada — everywhere.”

The urn has been reburied as “unknown,” but officials hope the marker will be temporary, the Post reported.