Skeletal Remains Of Maine Woman Missing Since 2019 Found In Late Father's Shed

Skeletal remains found wrapped in a sheet in a late homeowner’s shed in Maine have transpired to be those of his missing daughter, authorities said this week.

In May, relatives were cleaning out the home of 82-year-od Douglas Scott Sr. months after his March death, according to the Press Herald. In the shed of his property, they discovered skeletal remains. After months of suspicion, the local medical examiner positively identified them as those of his 53-year-old daughter, according to WGME. Denise Ramsey had not been heard from in more than a year and a half.

“I can confirm that the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has informed us that the skeletal remains in Casco are that of Denise Ramsey and that the cause of death is pending further study,” said Shannon Moss, spokesperson for the Maine Department of Public Safety.

Ramsey had been living with her father in Casco at the time of her disappearance. On Thursday, her brother, Douglas Scott Jr., told the Press Herald he’d believed that the remains found on May 8 belonged to his sister.

“I’m the one who found her,” he said. “I’m just glad that they finally released that it was her. It’s a big weight off all of our shoulders.”

Denise Scott’s daughter, Danielle McNaughton, was instrumental in helping identify the body after recognizing a distinctive tattoo of a snake, according to WGME.

“It’s really frustrating,” said McNaughton. “My mother would never leave me.”

McNaughton told WGME that she believed her mother was a victim of foul play.

“Because of my grandfather being deceased, and because they couldn’t, I guess, find a cause of death, they’re not going to be charging anyone with anything,” said McNaughton.

But she contends that her grandfather’s health was too poor for him to play a part in putting the body in the shed.

“He couldn’t even lug groceries up the stairs when he was first diagnosed with COPD,” she told WGME, referring to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Douglas Scott Sr. died without leaving a will for his four sons or daughter, according to documents filed with the Cumberland County Probate Court. In the affidavit, Douglas Scott Jr. said the family hadn’t heard from his sister in “quite a while.”

Scott stated that relatives searched for his sister by asking around on Facebook and that they could not reach her by phone for a year and a half, according to the affidavit. Ramsey was reported missing to the Social Security Administration and Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office on March 22 — days after her father’s death. Her death is still under investigation.

“She was bright. She was intelligent. She was quick-witted. She was funny,” McNaughton told WGME. “There wasn’t anyone or anything that she loved more in this world than me and her grandkids.”