JEFFERSON COUNTY — Human remains found late last year in rural Jefferson County and thought to possibly be linked to a 41-year-old woman who disappeared in the area nearly eight years ago are being examined by a forensic team at the University of Indianapolis.

Benedetta “Beth” Bentley, of Woodstock, 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.

The wife and mother of three boys was never seen or heard from again.

Then following information it had developed, the Illinois State Police was led to a location in rural Jefferson County where on December 4, 2017, they recovered badly burned human remains and other evidence.

ISP collected the remains and other evidence discovered near Saddle Club and Miller Lake roads, and started trying to identify the person.

According to the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office, a team of forensic anthropologists has now cleaned the remains found and is now trying to extract a DNA sample to identify the body.

In December, a McHenry County judge granted a request from Beth’s family’s to have her presumed dead.

Anyone with information about the disappearance of Benedetta “Beth” Bentley is encouraged to contact the ISP at 618-542-2171 or the WPD at 815-338-2131.

This is still an open and ongoing investigation. No further information is available