Family identifies clothing of missing man in Martin County as Jody Pauley’s

By Roberta Cantrell
BSN Editor

After a hunter reported to police that he discovered skeletal remains Monday, Oct. 20, Kentucky State Police, Martin County Coroner Chris Todd and Martin County Sheriff John Kirk went to the scene and found the remains along with the ID and food stamp card of 59-year-old Jody Pauley of Inez from a wallet found in an article of clothing.

Pauley had been reported missing since March 4, when he was last seen on East Main Street walking toward Coldwater.

KSP detectives and MC Coroner Todd and Penny Steffey of the Kentucky Search Dog Association joined detectives have since returned to the area to comb the area for any remains that may have been missed earlier in the week.

Last month, acting on a tip, the sheriff directed a deep-water search of the Curtis Crum Reservoir.

Kirk’s office began searching for Pauley in April after family members filed a missing person’s report. Family members said leads were already cold by the time they knew Pauley was missing. They had believed he was in a rehabilitation center.

During the first hearing of finding the skeletal remains, Sheriff Kirk voiced his suspicion that the deceased individual was Pauley, saying he and his wife had prayed for weeks that the Lord would lead officials to Pauley’s whereabouts and give his family closure.

Pauley’s family helped to identify shoes and other clothing recovered at the scene Oct. 20.

“We have confirmed body parts,” Coroner Todd said last week, noting that the remains included teeth that could help identify the deceased. He transported the remains Thursday to the State Medical Examiner’s Office.