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Nicholas Weston Turley (photo from Calhoun County Sheriff's Office)
Taniesa L. Sullivan | The Weekly Ledger News | Area News (Calhoun Journal)
ANNISTON, Ala. - Skeletal remains found in the Talladega National Forest have been identified.
On January 29, 2024, the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office issued a press release that human remains had been located in the Talladega National Forest. Today they have announced that the remains have been identified.
Lt. Falon Hurst said that DNA testing has identified the person as Nicholas Turley, 44 of Talladega County. In October 2022 a stolen vehicle was located in the National Forest by the Forest Service. The Forest Service contacted Cleburne County to recover the vehicle and process it for any possible evidence. The vehicle had been reported as stolen and it was believed that Turley may have had the vehicle. In January of 2024, a hunter came upon the remains in a “very hard-to-reach area”. The remains were located on the Calhoun County side of the forest so the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office was contacted. The bones were transferred to the Department of Forensic Science for identification and medical examiner examination.
Lt. Hurst went on to describe the area where Turley was located as “At the bottom of an extremely steep, and tall, hill”. Lt. Hurst also noted that the person had also suffered from a broken femur. The Medical Examiner has not given a possible cause of death at this time, but foul play is not suspected. The investigation is still ongoing and investigators are waiting for a possible cause of death to be given by the Medical Examiner.