MORENCI, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – A grim discovery in Tennessee has ignited hopes that the long-missing Skelton brothers might finally have been found.

According to a recent Daily Mail report, authorities in Memphis uncovered skeletal remains believed to belong to three young children, estimated to be between ages 3 and 7, in a wooded area after an anonymous tip led police to skulls and additional bones.

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The remains are thought to have been at the site for years, prompting investigators to examine missing children cases across the country – including Michigan’s most haunting cold case.

What’s the case about?

Andrew Skelton (9), Alexander Skelton (7), and Tanner Skelton (5) vanished over Thanksgiving weekend in 2010 while in the custody of their father, John Skelton, in Morenci, Michigan. Skelton initially told authorities he had given the boys to an underground group for their safety, but no evidence ever supported that claim, and the children were never seen again.

Despite extensive searches across Michigan and beyond for the boys, no remains have been recovered. In 2025, after the boys were legally declared dead, Skelton was charged with their murders. He has never revealed what happened to them.

Testing being done.

Michigan State Police Lieutenant Rene Gonzales told WTOL that the agency’s cold case unit is working with the Memphis Police Department, providing DNA and dental records from the Skelton brothers. Gonzales said investigators do not believe the remains are those of the boys based on the timeline of their disappearance, but testing is being conducted to definitively rule them out.

If the Tennessee remains are not the Skelton brothers, the discovery marks the beginning of heartbreak for another family still waiting for answers – and leaves Michigan’s most enduring mystery unresolved.