Remains of mystery man, an Iowa pioneer, laid to rest

The skeletal remains of a 19th-century pioneer discovered one year ago today returned to rest Thursday in an empty corner of a Dallas County cemetery.

A local developer and funeral director buried the remnants of bone, clothing and casket at the Booneville Cemetery, less than six miles from their original location in West Des Moines.

Burying the remains in a child's casket capped an investigation that offered hints about the life of a man who lived around the time of Iowa's birth in the 1840s.