Remains of 55 Students Found at Florida Reform School

News January 29, 2014

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(State of Florida, Public Domain)

MARIANNA, FLORIDA—The remains of 55 bodies have been unearthed at the former Dozier School for Boys in the Florida panhandle—almost twice the number that had been recorded in official documents in the early twentieth century. Local legends of brutality at the reform school, and the deaths and disappearance of boys, led to the investigation, led by Erin Kimmerle of the University of South Florida. Her team is using artifacts recovered from the burials, including shirt buttons, and DNA testing to try to find relatives of the deceased. “Locating 55 burials is a significant finding, which opens up a whole new set of questions for our team,” she said.

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