State Troopers in Tucker County say new technology helped them discover human remains in an outbuilding that once belonged to a woman who went missing in 2002.

First Sgt. J.A. Wise with the West Virginia State Police says ground penetrating radar helped them find the remains buried under the dirt and gravel floor of an outbuilding on a property off Licking Creek Road near the Tucker-Preston county line.

“We didn’t have the technology available to us back then as we do today,” said 1st Sgt. Wise. “We were able to get a hold of [ground penetrating radar] to assist us in a more thorough search, in a more advanced search.”

So after reviewing the case over the past few months Wise says they were able to get another search warrant for the property. About 20 State Troopers and a civilian search-and-rescue team searched the property Wednesday and found the remains that afternoon.

Bonnie Woods-Cale went missing in 2002 and her SUV was found shortly thereafter in Webster County. The remains are believed to be hers.

“It appears to be, but until we get positive identification we won’t know for sure,” said Wise.

The remains and clothing have been sent to the state Medical Examiner’s office in Charleston for identification and, Wise hopes, to determine the cause of death. Wise says they have a person of interest in the case, but are awaiting positive identification of the remains before they move forward with the investigation.

“We need to wait and see what we can get,” said Wise. “[First we’ll see] if they can positively identify her through DNA or whatever method they deem feasible. Then we’ll go from there.”