Remains identified as those of former Butler County official

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Missouri State Highway Patrol officials received confirmation Tuesday that the human remains found in Virginia are those of a former Butler County Clerk accused of sodomizing a young girl.

"The remains located in Virginia have been positively identified as those of Johnnie Dunivan by use of dental records," said patrol Sgt. Phil Gregory, who received the notification Tuesday.

A human skull was discovered Aug. 31 by hikers on private property near a remote area of Hungry Mother State Park in Marion, Va. The skull, according to authorities, was about a mile and a half from where Dunivan's red 2000 Toyota Tacoma was found along Interstate 81, on the western edge of Virginia. The truck had been found there July 20, 2007, by a Virginia State Police officer.

The rest of the skeleton was found Sept. 1 by investigators under several layers of brush in what appeared to be a "makeshift survival shelter," Bill Eller, an investigator with Smyth County Sheriff's Department in Virginia, said earlier.

A revolver and a passport were found near the remains, Eller said. The passport later was identified as belonging to Dunivan.

Authorities had been searching for Dunivan since a warrant was issued for the then-60-year-old's arrest July 12, 2007.

Dunivan, who had served as Butler County Clerk for 20 years before retiring in 2006, was charged with first-degree statutory sodomy in Ripley County.

The cause and manner of death is still unknown, Eller said Wednesday morning. He said he had no idea how long it will take for that determination to be made.