r The Utah Medical Examiner’s Office has officially identified human remains found on May 22 in a Spanish Fork home as those of Peggy Sue Case, who was last seen on July 9, 1988, and has been listed as a missing person since July 15, 1988.
The remains were found buried in the cellar of a home located at 80 N. 800 East. Dental records were used to identify the remains. The skeletal remains are in the process of being examined to determine the cause and manner of death.
Peggy Sue Case and her boyfriend, Michael Kurfin, were living in the home at the time of Case’s disappearance.
At 10:30 a.m. on May 22, the current owner of the home was moving out when he and the other person assisting him noticed an area of the dirt floor of the cellar was sinking and decided to find out why.
They dug down about 18 inches and found a human skull wrapped in a blanket and plastic mesh. They immediately left the cellar and called the police. When the owner was interviewed by the police, he told them a neighbor had told him about a previous renter who went missing and had never been found.
In 1988, the Spanish Fork Police Department did an extensive investigation into the disappearance of Case. At that time they had dug through the cellar soil and found no evidence. It has remained an open case for 29 years.
Kurfin was a person of interest at the time of her disappearance. In October of 1988, Kurfin was arrested for unrelated theft charges and spent five years in the Utah State Prison. While in prison, he refused to discuss the disappearance of Case. When he was released from prison, he returned to his home state of Illinois. The police department does not know his current whereabouts.
Spanish Fork City Police Department investigators are in the process of reviewing evidence that was acquired in 1988 as well as evidence obtained when Case’s remains were discovered on May 22. Investigators are working in conjunction with the Utah County Attorney’s Office. Once the evidence has been reviewed and any new information investigated, the facts of the case will be submitted to the county attorney’s office. The county attorney’s office will make a decision on how to proceed in this matter.
