He was shot down in the Pacific Ocean in WWII. Almost 80 years later, his remains are finally home

Updated: 2:25 AM EDT Jul 10, 2023

Sara Smart and Zoe Sottile, CNN

Almost 80 years after Anthony Di Petta's plane was shot down by enemy fire in World War II and over 70 years after he was declared "non-recoverable," he's finally home.The remains of the sailor arrived back in the U.S. on Friday afternoon, according to an agency of the U.S. Department of Defense. Di Petta, from Nutley, New Jersey, served as a U.S. Navy Aviation Ordnanceman during World War II, according to a news release from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA). The sailor, 24 at the time of his death, was born in Italy but immigrated to the U.S. around 1921, according to a nonprofit called Project Recover, which took part in the recovery effort. He had enlisted in the U.S. Navy by 1940.In September 1944, Di Petta and two other crew members were on a mission to conduct air strikes against Japanese forces in the Palau Islands, DPAA says.The aircraft was hit by enemy fire and crashed into the water of Malakal Harbor. Di Petta's remains were unable to be found at the time, DPAA says.Several more searches for the downed aircraft were unsuccessful and Di Petta was declared "non-recoverable" in July 1949, according to the DPAA.But from 2003 to 2018, Project Recover (originally called the Bentprop Project) and the DPAA conducted joint investigations that eventually identified the crash site. Project Recover executed a total of 14 dives up to 112 feet deep to identify the aircraft. In August 2021, the nonprofit recovered the remains of multiple missing service members from the site, including those of Di Petta.The remains were then sent for testing at the DPAA laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, and identified by dental analysis as Di Petta in January, according to the DPAA. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA analysis.Di Petta's remains arrived at LaGuardia Airport in New York on Friday afternoon. A coffin draped with an American flag was seen arriving on the tarmac as people approached, bowing their heads.Di Petta will be buried in Wrightstown, New Jersey, on July 11, according to the DPAA.

CNN —

Almost 80 years after Anthony Di Petta's plane was shot down by enemy fire in World War II and over 70 years after he was declared "non-recoverable," he's finally home.

The remains of the sailor arrived back in the U.S. on Friday afternoon, according to an agency of the U.S. Department of Defense.

Di Petta, from Nutley, New Jersey, served as a U.S. Navy Aviation Ordnanceman during World War II, according to a news release from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA).

The sailor, 24 at the time of his death, was born in Italy but immigrated to the U.S. around 1921, according to a nonprofit called Project Recover, which took part in the recovery effort. He had enlisted in the U.S. Navy by 1940.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA)

In September 1944, Di Petta and two other crew members were on a mission to conduct air strikes against Japanese forces in the Palau Islands, DPAA says.

The aircraft was hit by enemy fire and crashed into the water of Malakal Harbor. Di Petta's remains were unable to be found at the time, DPAA says.

Several more searches for the downed aircraft were unsuccessful and Di Petta was declared "non-recoverable" in July 1949, according to the DPAA.

But from 2003 to 2018, Project Recover (originally called the Bentprop Project) and the DPAA conducted joint investigations that eventually identified the crash site. Project Recover executed a total of 14 dives up to 112 feet deep to identify the aircraft. In August 2021, the nonprofit recovered the remains of multiple missing service members from the site, including those of Di Petta.

The remains were then sent for testing at the DPAA laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, and identified by dental analysis as Di Petta in January, according to the DPAA. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA analysis.

Di Petta's remains arrived at LaGuardia Airport in New York on Friday afternoon. A coffin draped with an American flag was seen arriving on the tarmac as people approached, bowing their heads.

Di Petta will be buried in Wrightstown, New Jersey, on July 11, according to the DPAA.

Human remains found in Hueston Woods are believed to be those of a man missing for more than two years.

Michael McKenney, 28, was last seen May 23, 2020. Investigators said there are strong indicators he has now been found.

“I'm totally not quitting until he's positively identified,” said McKenney’s mother Yolanda Middleton. “I'm a fighter. I'm not a quitter and I'm not going to quit until I know for certain, but everything points to that it is him.”

Texas Equisearch, Christian Aid Ministries and other volunteers have continued searching and Wednesday they made the discovery in a remote part of Hueston Woods.

“It's almost like you're going through the whole process over again, to be honest, from day one,” Middleton said. “I didn't know if we'd ever, ever come to this day.”

The family said there were some of McKenney’s personal effects found with the remains and some specific physical characteristics were the same.

“There were some things definitely strongly suggesting that it was him,” said Fairfield Township Police Sgt. Brandon McCroskey.

McCroskey said the cause of death could come with the coroner’s report, but so much time has passed, it could also be undetermined.

The case is in such early stages police cannot yet rule out foul play, however, there are no obvious indicators that anyone else was involved.

“I will say that we're not looking for anybody right now. We're not looking for any suspects at this point,” McCroskey said.

The identity will be confirmed by DNA. That could take weeks or even months to get back.

AKRON, Ohio — Investigators in Ohio have found 89 sets of cremated remains in an abandoned church in Akron.

Court documents obtained by News 5 show an urban explorer, or urbexer, who commonly travels around to photograph older buildings, found the cremated remains of multiple people inside an abandoned Akron church on Sunday.

They then notified the Ohio Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors, who passed on the information to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

The remains were found in a building operated by an Akron man currently facing charges for providing funeral services without a license. His attorney said the remains were the property of a now-deceased Toledo funeral director.

According to the search warrant, the urbexer and another party spotted several people entering and exiting Greater Faith Missionary Baptist Church, 825 East Buchtel Ave., and went inside to tell them to leave.

Once inside, the urbexer came across suspected cremated remains. The remains were in white cardboard boxes labeled "Tri-County Cremation Service" and plastic bags dated back to 2010.

"There are significant health issues, significant dignity issues," Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said. "This is not just a regulatory issue. And some of the things we're seeing, they're just not right."

The warrant states that an Akron resident named Shawnte Hardin operated Hussain Funeral Home and Celebration of Life out of the building as recently as Jan. 14, 2019. The sign out front refers to the building as the Greater Faith Missionary Baptist Church. Hardin's name is on the church's sign.

News 5 has previously reported on Hardin, who is currently charged with more than three dozen counts for allegedly providing funeral services without a license.

Hardin was indicted in October 2021, according to the Ohio Attorney General's Office. He is not a licensed funeral director or embalmer in Ohio, court documents state. Last year, Ohio BCI "removed two bodies from a building he was using for makeshift funeral services at 1615 E. Livingston Ave. in Columbus."

In June 2020, a Lucas County grand jury indicted Hardin on a charge of abuse of a corpse. A separate search warrant previously executed at Islamic Cemetery in Columbus recovered the remains of individuals cremated in Akron and had been in Hardin's possession. Court documents noted that the Islamic faith does not "conduct or condone cremations."

News 5 spoke with Hardin's attorney, who said the cremated remains belonged to former Toledo funeral director Robert Tate, who had his license pulled in 2016.

The lawyer explained that Hardin agreed to store the remains in 2017 while Tate tried to reach the families. According to his online obituary, Tate died in 2021.

Yost told News 5 the investigation is ongoing. However, from what people have seen so far, he hopes that there’s a lesson to be taken away.

"Make sure that you are dealing with a licensed professional who is going to abide by the laws and the appropriate health regulations, and secondly, reach out to somebody who's been through it and get the advice of somebody you trust," he added.

It’s not clear at this time what will happen to the remains of those loved ones found and when they could finally be returned to their families.

Drew Scofield and Clay LePard at WEWS in Cleveland, Ohio, first reported this story.

Autopsy shows Brian Laundrie died by suicide, medical examiner says

Updated: 7:21 PM EST Nov 23, 2021

Brian Laundrie, who was found dead last month in a Florida swamp, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, officials announced Tuesday.Laundrie had been the subject of a manhunt for more than a month as investigators searched for clues in the slaying of his girlfriend, Gabby Petito, during their cross-country van trip together.The medical examiner in Sarasota County, where Laundrie's body was found, said in a news release that the cause of death was a gunshot wound, and the manner of death was suicide.Attorney Steve Bertolino, who represents Laundrie's parents, said in a statement that the family had been informed about the autopsy results."Chris and Roberta are still mourning the loss of their son and are hopeful that these findings bring closure to both families," Bertolino said.Found in a Florida nature preserve, Laundrie's skeletal remains were positively identified last month using dental records.The discovery of the remains concluded a massive search involving federal, state and local law enforcement that began shortly after Laundrie disappeared Sept. 14, two weeks after the 23-year-old returned alone to his parents' home in North Port, Florida.The investigation into Petito’s slaying, however, has not yet concluded. But only Laundrie was ever identified by law enforcement officials as a person of interest in the case.Petito’s family reported the 22-year-old woman missing Sept. 11, launching a search that garnered worldwide media attention and, in Laundrie’s case, focused largely on the Carlton Reserve wilderness park near the Laundrie home. It is a densely wooded, swampy area that’s home to alligators, coyotes, bobcats, snakes and numerous other creatures.Petito's remains were discovered Sept. 19 on the edge of Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, one of the places the young couple had visited on the trip they documented through social media videos. Authorities said the body had been there for about a month.An autopsy in Wyoming concluded Petito died by strangulation and that it was a homicide. Laundrie was listed as a "person of interest" in her killing but he was charged only with fraudulent use of a debit card that was not his.Richard Stafford, attorney for Petito’s family, said they would have no immediate comment on Laundrie’s cause of death.