• DEADWOOD, S.D. (AP) -- Historic preservation officials are using the latest in forensic science to unravel the mystery of a young pioneer prospector buried in a forgotten grave 140 years ago and discovered by construction crews in the Deadwood's Presidential neighborhood in 2012.
• So far, they believe he was a man in his late teens or early 20s of average height and decent income who apparently chewed tobacco on the right side of his mouth.
• The man was buried in Ingleside Cemetery sometime between Deadwood's earliest origins in 1876 and the latter part of 1878, according to city historic preservation officials. He was discovered by a crew working on a retaining wall at 66 Taylor Ave., in the shadows of the town's own "Boot Hill" -- Mount Moriah Cemetery.
• State archaeologists and city personnel, assisted by a local archaeologist, sifted through the site, collecting bone fragments and the remnants of a cranium. They found 99 percent of his skeleton, save for one tooth and a few small finger and toe bones.
• The gruesome discovery set off a search for the mystery man's origins and identity using modern-day forensic techniques and help from researchers from Atlanta to Austin, Texas.
• "Right here in Deadwood we've inadvertently found this early pioneer," Historic Preservation Officer Kevin Kuchenbecker told the Rapid City Journal (http://bit.ly/1jH7xve ). "There is a possibility through this process that we will positively identify this unknown man, found in an unmarked grave in Deadwood's original cemetery, Ingleside. It's remarkable. It's beyond words."
• Since the discovery, the Deadwood Historic Preservation Commission, backed by the Deadwood City Commission, has invested thousands of dollars in scientific analysis of the skeletal remains.
• Late last year, Diane France, a forensic anthropologist affiliated with the Human Identification Laboratory of Colorado in Fort Collins, began her study of the remains. In March, she concluded the man was 5-foot-4 to 5-foot-8, white and 18 to 24 years of age at the time of his death, according to Deadwood Archivist Michael Runge.
• This spring, Deadwood Dental's Dr. Lennard Hopper took digital X-rays of the teeth and jawbone of the remains he has labeled "Jackson" in his files. Those X-rays were sent to forensic dentist Thomas David of Atlanta, whose recent report re

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