Bismarck Tribune - Bismarck News - Second body found in house

Second body found in house

This small house near an Adams County road is where Yvonne Olson's body was discovered Nov. 5. Remains believed to be those of Norman Olson were found Tuesday during another search of the house. (TOM STROMME/Tribune)

Nov 24, 2004 - 23:16:13 CST

By MIKE ALBRECHT, Bismarck Tribune

Human remains, believed to be those of Norman Olson, were found Tuesday afternoon in the same abandoned farmhouse northwest of Hettinger where his wife's remains were found nearly three weeks ago, the Adams County sheriff said.

A handgun found near the remains was a "similar type" to the .22 caliber that disappeared along with the Alzheimer's-striken Hettinger man and his wife, Yvonne Olson, Adams County Sheriff Eugene Molbert said. The gun was sent to the state crime lab in Bismarck for analysis.

The human remains also went to Bismarck -- to the state medical examiner's office, for an autopsy. Authorities said autopsy results were expected Friday to make a positive identification.

"I can't say for sure it's Norman, but I'm pretty sure it's him," Molbert said.

The autopsy results are also expected to reveal the cause of death and an approximate time of death.

Yvonne, 69, and Norman Olson, 73, disappeared from their Hettinger home in August. Search efforts intensified earlier this month when the couple's car was found in a Quonset about seven miles northwest of town.

A lone dog handler from Aberdeen, S.D., and her bloodhound made the discovery at about 3 p.m. Tuesday. A state Bureau of Criminal Investigation agent found Yvonne Olson's body in the same farmhouse Nov. 4. Yvonne Olson had been shot to death and investigators are treating her death as a homicide.

Molbert said they didn't find the remains earlier because they were located in a space near the ceiling of the dilapidated house, and high winds had hampered previous dog searches. There were no stairs or a ladder leading up to what Molbert described as an "enclosed ceiling."

"The building was so rotten we couldn't climb," Molbert said.

Searchers earlier had looked up through the ceiling and the attic appeared to be empty except for a barrel, he said. "The upper part of the body was inside the barrel," he said.

Molbert said the body was partially covered with garbage, building material and "real old stuff." He declined to comment on whether anything besides the gun was found nearby.

The Olson's son, Blake, said the family was upset that the remains weren't "found a few weeks ago when mom was. Somebody didn't do their job."

Blake Olson and other family members returned to Hettinger for Yvonne Olson's funeral Saturday and Harold Olson's funeral Nov. 12. Harold Olson was Norman Olson's 84-year-old brother, who died Nov. 8 of an apparent heart attack while deer hunting.

"We would've liked to have their (mom's and dad's) funerals together," he said.

Blake Olson said that although the sheriff has taken full responsibility for not thoroughly searching the house, the blame lies elsewhere.

"He (Molbert) did the right thing. He called BCI, and I think they dropped the ball," Blake Olson said. "He's a small-town sheriff. He's not a kidnap, murder expert. That's why he has them (BCI), I assume."

BCI assisted the county sheriff with the investigation. About nine agents were sent to Hettinger after the Olsons' car was found.

Phone calls to BCI were referred to the attorney general's office. A spokesperson there said the office wasn't commenting on the case and referred all questions to Molbert.

When asked if the incident appeared to be a murder-suicide or if a third party may have been involved, Molbert said "we're not making any judgment on that yet."

Blake Olson said he believes "now more than ever" that a third party was involved. He said things like the car being parked a mile and a half away from the where the remains were found just don't add up.

Blake Olson gave special thanks to the dog handler who went out of her way to assist in the search.

"We owe her a debt of gratitude that we can never repay because if it wasn't for her, we probably never would have found him," he said. "We would've never went back to a house that was supposedly searched by experts."

The remains were found by Tami Bulik, a member of an Aberdeen, S.D., volunteer search-and-rescue team that had helped in the search earlier this month. Bulik was searching on her own Tuesday.

Molbert said he was glad the remains were found, but "I just wish it could've been sooner." The investigation into the case is ongoing.

"We're not done yet," Molbert said.

(The Associated Press contributed to this story. Reach reporter Mike Albrecht at 250-8261 or cops@ndonline.com.)

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Comments

Shannalii wrote on Jun 2, 2008 12:22 PM:

" is this a true story?? cause if it is thats scary i used to live in the palace arms hotel. well i only lived there for like a month and a half. but i was in grade 4, now im in grade 10. me and the other kids that lived there always wondered why no one was allowed on the 7th floor. my mom and my stepdad used to work there too. so did these other people and they got sent to jail because they started a meth-lab up there. but one day the power went out in the whole hotel. i lost my dads ring there in suite 419. i had a lot of fun in that hotel though...i just didnt know it was haunted. "

peewee herman wrote on Apr 10, 2008 2:02 PM:

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PC of Mandan wrote on Dec 11, 2006 10:41 AM:

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Online Editor wrote on Nov 8, 2006 1:57 PM:

" To I Know Everything: Each comment is read by the Editor or the Online Editor before it is posted. Your first comment won't be posted because it is potentially libelous. "

i know everything wrote on Nov 8, 2006 1:54 PM:

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GG wrote on Oct 7, 2006 10:00 PM:

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Quite confused wrote on Aug 10, 2006 10:22 PM:

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just me wrote on Aug 5, 2006 2:29 PM:

" What do any of these comments have to do with placing the people who should not be in society in commitments to a state hospital? Why should they have a right to a chance at life when they took any kind of DECENT life of not looking over your shoulder from their victims? Why should they have 3 squares a day and a roof over their head either? I say put them all out on a little island and let them have at eachother for their own sick way or pleasure. Why put the rest of society in jeapordy of their sick ways? All these children who had their INNOCENTS STOLEN, they can never get that back. Why do the offenders have a chance to get theirs back? "

Brenda Coin wrote on Jul 12, 2006 9:51 PM:

" Hello, I am a North Dakota native who currently resides in Missouri. I came here to pursue music. I remember the days of the oil boom in and around Dickinson, ND back in the late 70's and early 80's. My dad is still residing in ND and they recently drilled on his land. I was wondering how I could find out specific info. on what was found after drilling this time. They drilled back in 1983 and it was a dry hole and they found oil this time but I haven't heard any details as to what the results are. How would I get that information? "

Dorothy Hendrickson Tenney wrote on Jul 6, 2006 1:58 PM:

" I had many picnics at the Cave Hills when I was a child and teenager, and don't remember seeing many pictographs or other Indian paintings, so when initials were carved out, we didn't think of it as "Grafitti", just saying we were there. I wish I had known the history of the Hills while I was there, it would have made it even more special. I will always remember the coolness of the valleys and the good spring water. It was our "backyard". "

D. Anderson wrote on Jul 3, 2006 8:00 PM:

" Today's graffiti is the rock art of the future. Look at Pompey's Pillar, where a traveling white man left his mark back in 1806. There is a big celebration planned for Aug. 25 this year to observe 200-year-old graffiti. As an aside, consider the Medicine Rocks State Park near Ekalaka: acres of sandstone covered with inscriptions, yet none call it graffiti. Once you consider a rock to be sacred, you become guilty of idolitry. "

Glenn Andersen wrote on May 2, 2006 12:41 PM:

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kim miner at kim77miner77@yahoo.com wrote on Apr 8, 2006 6:52 PM:

" can u help me . please!. I have anceint.rock art/petroghyphic. who or were do I go so I may show this to them. u can contact me. e-mail address is kim77miner77@yahoo.com. or (209)496-8233. (408) 295-7930. I thank you so very much. for any help!. if not thank anyways. Thank you for your time kim miner. "

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