SPANISH FORK, Utah, May 24, 2017 (Gephardt Daily) — The body found buried in a Spanish Fork cellar is that of Peggy Sue Case, who lived in the residence with her boyfriend before her disappearance in 1988.
“Dental records were used to identify the remains,” said a news release from the Spanish Fork Police Department. “The skeletal remains are in the process of being examined to determine the cause and manner of death. A person of interest in her disappearance is Michael Kufrin. Michael was Peggy’s boyfriend at the time she disappeared.”
The body was discovered Monday morning by a man who was moving out of the residence. He told Spanish Fork Police officers he had been removing stored items from the cellar and noticed a sunken area in the cellar’s dirt floor.
The resident and a friend helping with the move dug down about 18 inches before finding a human skull. They left the residence and summoned police. The skull was wrapped in a blanket and plastic mesh, according to the Spanish Fork Police Department news release.
The man told officers that about a year earlier, a neighbor had informed him that a previous tenant, Case, was declared a missing person, and she had never been found. The man moving out said that the sunken dirt in the cellar made him curious whether someone was buried there.
Case was last seen on July 9, 1988, and was reported missing by her co-workers at a Medford explosives plant on July 15, 1988. Case was 27 at the time she went missing.
Case’s disappearance was investigated by the police department, and the search included a partial excavation of the cellar soil, but no evidence was found, according to a statement from the Spanish Fork Police.
Kurfin’s whereabouts are unknown, the news release said.
According to the missing person’s site The Charley Project, Case was last seen at a private party, arguing with Kurfin.
Kurfin’s family has asked for privacy and does not plan to release a statement, the SFPD statement said.
