Father of missing Tecumseh man awaits DNA results
Remains may be man’s lost son

BY ANN KELLEY

Published: December 2, 2008

The father of a missing Tecumseh man said he is anxiously awaiting the results of a DNA test that will determine whether skeletal remains found earlier this year in rural Pottawatomie County belong to his son.

"If it’s my son I can stop looking,” said James Bench of Canadian. "But I’ll have to face what I’ve known all along — that something bad happened to him.”

Dustin Bench was 22 years old when last heard from on July 1, 2001, but the unearthing of human bones in April may shed some light on his disappearance. The bones were found by a man hunting mushrooms in Earlsboro.

A preliminary autopsy indicates the skull and bones belong to a young American Indian man fitting Bench’s description, Tecumseh police Detective J.R. Kidney said. No identification or clothing was found, he said.

The remains are being compared with DNA from Bench’s father.

"If they are Dustin Bench’s bones this becomes an active homicide investigation,” Kidney said. "Unfortunately, after eight years the killer’s trail is going to be freezing cold.”

Dustin Bench was last seen by family members leaving his home on Old Santa Fe Lake Road to walk to a girlfriend’s house, James Bench said.

Anyone with information about the disappearance or the skeletal remains can call Kidney at 598-3755.