More than a decade after the remains of eight men were found in an east Fort Myers field, police are again showing the possible faces of the victims, this time updated with modern techniques.

On March 23, 2007, eight sets of skeletal remains were discovered off Arcadia Street. Fort Myers police investigators at the time said the men may have died as the result of criminal activity sometime between 1987 and 2001.

No cause of death had been determined on any of the victims, police said.

"We ask that the public come forward if they know someone is missing," Fort Myers police Chief Derrick Diggs said at a media briefing Monday. "We hope to resolve family concerns about loved ones and shed some light on this."

The remains were all white males between the ages of 18 and 49 years old, said Heather Walsh-Haney, a forensic anthropologist who examined the remains in 2007.

Since then, three of the remains were identified, leaving five unknown.

More:Fort Myers police: Bones found in wooded area of city may be of homicide victims

In an effort to regenerate interest in the case, the Lee County Medical Examiner’s office requested new facial reconstructions of the remaining five skulls by Samantha Steinberg, a forensic artist with the Miami-Dade Police Department.

"The only way to get these people ID'd," Steinberg said, "is to have someone recognize them. ... The problem is to get the person who needs to see it, to see it."

To do that, Steinberg gathered data that was available on the five remaining sets of remains, including the skulls, and used refined forensic techniques for facial reconstruction.

"This is critical when you have unidentified skeletal remains," she said, adding that it's even more important when there is no hair or clothing found, as in this case.

While the basic methodology of facial reconstruction is decades old, Steinberg said that science has enhanced ways to determine how someone may have looked.

Fort Myers police Detective Maalisa Langton has been connected with the case since 2009.

She said that over the post decade there has been a steady influx of tips and information, especially when there is a media report.

"We're looking forward to the contacts," she said after Monday's presentation at FMPD headquarters.

Langton, the department's longest-serving homicide detective, said that a lot of loved ones call about people who they have not reported missing.

"There are a number of reasons for that," Langton said, including losing track of relatives, emotional distances or other family issues.

More:Theory on bones fuels interest; could a serial killer be behind remains?

"We have actually found relatives alive," she said. Additionally, a tip that came in on this case helped solve an identification in the Miami area.

This case broke in 2007 when an ecologist found the remains while surveying the land for development.

The remains were close to the surface — buried just 1 or 2 inches deep, and flooding might have affected the location and depth. The remains were sent to the University of Florida for examination.

The skeletal remains were found within a 200-yard radius from each other in a 10-acre, crime-scene area. No clothing or other evidence was reported.

During the 2007 investigation, Florida Department of Law Enforcement workers, an anthropologist from Florida Gulf Coast University and an odontologist and botanist, assisted.

Police initially found three skeletons, but searchers later found five others, all within a 50-yard radius.

Theories ranged from someone who had used the site for the improper disposal of remains to a serial killer's dump site.

The initial examination of the remains did not show any outward signs of foul play, Fort Myers police said.

Steinberg added that to positively identify the unidentified remains, DNA would be needed.

"We also could use dental records," she said.

More:Fort Myers police: Bones found in wooded area of city may be of homicide victims

That the remains were of white men made the assessments easier, Steinberg said.

Usually, she said, because of the mix of races that are prevalent in Florida, especially south Florida, it can be difficult to determine the facial features of, say, a Hispanic victim if the specific country of origin is not known.

Some remains may also be the result of multiple ethnicities, making identification that much more difficult, she said.

WHO TO CALL

If you have information on someone missing or recognize the new images as someone you might know who disappeared between 1987 and 2001, call Fort Myers police at 239-321-8015 or email Det. Maalisa Langton at mlangton@fmpolice.com.

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