Human Remains Found On Rawson Island Have Been Identified

(Greenfield, MA) Update: The remains found on Rawson Island on August 23rd by a group of students have been identified by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to be Brian Cornwell, from Greenfield. Cornwell was reported missing in December 2020 and was 57 years old at the time.

According to Northwestern District Attorney’s Office, the cause of death is still under investigation by the Greenfield Police Department, Montague Police Department, State Police Crime Scene Services, and the Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit attached to the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office. Anyone with information may contact the State Police Detective unit at the Northwestern District Attorney’s Greenfield Office at 413-774-3186.

—

A group of children and their teachers in a Field Environmental Philosophy group discovered human remains Wednesday morning on Rawson Island in the Connecticut River. The students who attend Biocitizen Inc. explore the local environment and last week they were studying the local waterway when they found bones and shortly after, a human skull. Greenfield Police and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner were on scene Wednesday. As of Friday, the remains had not yet been identified and the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office has said the investigation is open.