JEFFERSON COUNTY — A new development is possible in the 2010 disappearance of a Woodstock, Illinois woman last

Beth Bentley
(Source: ISP)

reportedly seen boarding an Amtrak train in Centralia.

Remains found last December in a fire pit in rural Jefferson County were sent to the University of Indianapolis for analysis, and now Illinois State Police have confirmed what was suspected — that the remains are human.

According to ISP, additional out-of-state examination is needed before a positive identification can be made. No time frame has been given regarding the possible identification of the remains.

Bentley was in the Mt. Vernon/Centralia area with a friend in 2010 when the friend said she dropped Beth at the Amtrak station in Centralia so she could catch a train home. But Amtrak had no records of Beth buying a ticket, and no one recalled seeing her in the vicinity.

Her family has since had her declared legally dead.

Law enforcement acting on a tip last December found “badly burned” remains near Saddle Club and Miller Lake roads — the area where Bentley had been staying with friends.