Dental records help ID bones found in Peoria

February 13, 2013

Authorities have identified human remains found last week as a woman who’s been missing for nearly two years.

Deborah Delaney A handout photo of Deborah Delaney. (Photo via Peoria Police Department)

The bones were found by hikers in northern Peoria. Wednesday, Peoria police announced dental records helped identify the skeletal remains as those of 54-year-old Deborah Delaney, who disappeared from her home in April 2011.

According to police, Delaney’s late husband William was suspected in her disappearance and likely her murder. He was a retired paramedic and firefighter who had worked in Rim Rock and Sun City.

But William Delaney was never charged with a crime. Police say he fatally shot himself in the head near Flagstaff last May.