Skeletal remains identified as those of recent Kansas parolee

Authorities said Friday that the human skeletal remains found north of Wichita earlier this week are those of James T. Labat, who was released from prison in June.

Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Capt. Greg Pollock said Labat, 54, was identified using dental records. A hunter found the remains in a wooded area near 61st Street North and Hillside and notified the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office at about 10 p.m. Tuesday.

Pollock said Labat was released June 15 and listed as an absconder on July 15 after not reporting to his parole officer. Pollock said Labat had a history of burglary and drug convictions. He was sentenced in 2014 for convictions of burglary and criminal damage to property.

The Sheriff’s Office is asking that anyone who may have had contact with Labat in June or July call its investigations unit at 316-660-5300 or Crime Stoppers at 316-267-2111.

Investigators recovered 90 to 95 percent of the remains, which had been scattered over an extended area by animals, sheriff’s officials said. An anthropology professor at Wichita State University has assisted in the investigation.

“No major trauma was observed when they examined the remains” on Thursday, a statement released by the Sheriff’s Office said.

Articles of clothing consistent with what would be worn by an adult male in that age range were also found in the area, according to the statement.

This story was originally published December 4, 2015 at 12:03 PM with the headline "Skeletal remains identified as those of recent Kansas parolee."