MARIANNA, Fla. — Evidence of 27 human remains was uncovered on the grounds of the former Dozier School for Boys reform school in Marianna, Florida.
In a letter obtained by First Coast News to the Jackson County Board of County Commissioners, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis writes that he is aware of the discovery of 27 possible new grave sites, and offers his assistance with Jackson County going forward.
The Dozier School has a dark history, one that the State of Florida publicly acknowledged in 2018.
This year, the Department of Environmental Protection contracted Gyosyntech to clean up the school's property as part of DEP's Petroleum Restoration Program.
Because of the school's history, a survey of the area was done using "ground penetrating radar" (GPR) prior to engaging in any cleanup activities.
Gyosyntech contracted New South Associates to conduct the GPR.
(MORE: Roger Kiser survived Dozier Reform School For Boys and accepts state's apology for the horrors)
As New South summarizes in the historical part of their report, "Often, the causes of death [at the school] were not recorded, some death certificates were never issued, and burial locations were not sufficiently documented (Kimmerle et al. 2016:14)."
Because of the disorderly documentation used during the school's operation, New South says it's impossible to know for certain how many children died at the school and how many were buried at the school's cemetery.
It will now be up to DNA testing to try to pair the possible remains with students that went unaccounted for since the school opened more than a century ago.