St. Croix police on Saturday identified skeletal remains found on the Campo Rico beach in Frederiksted as those of Mario Daniel, who was reported missing in February. Police have classified the death as a homicide.
Deputy Police Chief Novelle Francis told the Source that a forensics investigation revealed signs of foul play.
"The comparison of dental records with the facial skeletal remains led detectives to positively identify the results as those of Mr. Daniels," Francis added. The remains were discovered on June 12.
Francis was expected to release a formal statement with further details later on Saturday.
Police have asked anyone with information to contact homicide investigators at 778-2211, extensions 4535, 4508 or the emergency number 911.

At least two V.I. government officials are in Denmark as part of the Virgin Islands' formal agreement with that country to share archival material and cooperate in historic preservation. The agreement was signed Oct. 27, 1999, at a ceremony at Government House, St. Thomas.
Claudette Lewis, assistant commissioner of the Planning and Natural Resources Department, and Myron Jackson, director of the Division of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, traveled to Denmark as part of "the ongoing efforts," Government House spokeswoman Rina Jacobs McBrowne confirmed several days ago.
However, she said she does not know when they left, how long they will be there, what they are doing, whether anyone else is on the trip or the cost of the trip. She deferred to PNR spokeswoman Annette Morales for those details. But Morales said she was instructed by the Government House public relations office that that office is to handle inquiries about the trip.
McBrowne did say that a private organization, the Friends of the (Fort Christian) Museum, is picking up the tab.
That was news to Joseph Aubain, an officer with the not-for-profit Friends organization, who said it has a tight budget. Fort Christian Museum curator Delores Jowers, who heads up the Friends, said Lewis told her the trip is being funded through "some sort of grant."
Several non-V.I. government groups already have contributed to the general effort. Planning and Natural Resources held an archival symposium March 30 and April 1 on St. Thomas and St. Croix that was sponsored by the Danish Ministry of Culture, Topa Equities (VI) Ltd., the Virgin Islands Humanities Council, The West Indian Company Ltd. and the Prosser/ICC Foundation.
The actual agreement between Denmark and the Virgin Islands lists the following initiatives:
* Surveying and arranging relevant documentation contained in the Danish West Indian Local Government Archives housed by the Danish National Archives in Copenhagen, assessing the material with respect to its preservation requirements
* Surveying and processing the official records from the Danish period (1672-1917) housed by public authorities or institutions or in church or private collections in the Virgin Islands
* Establishing collaboration with the National Archives of the United States to develop an archival survey of the Danish West Indian Local Government records housed there.
* Publishing comprehensive finding aids for the records mentioned above
* Establishing on the basis of the above-mentioned archival surveys a program for copying the records and for distributing those copies with a view to supporting cultural, historical or genealogical activities in Denmark and in the Virgin Islands
* Considering the possible transfer of original archival materials from the Danish West Indian Local Government Archives housed by the Danish National Archives to the Virgin Islands, and the preconditions for such transfer
* Developing and implementing a training program for the Virgin Islands in the use and administration of archival records and in the Danish language and Gothic script, and a program for exchange of archival personnel
* Developing a bilateral Archival Commission to be co-headed by the Danish National Archives and the Planning and Natural Resources Department to oversee the implementation of the activities pursuant to this agreement
* Considering further cooperation in research into the history of the former Danish West Indies and in other fields related to the preservation of the common cultural heritage of Denmark and the Virgin Islands, and
* Discussing the distribution of financial costs involved in the implementation of the activities pursuant to this agreement.
Gov. Charles W. Turnbull and PNR Commissioner Dean Plaskett signed the agreement on behalf of the Virgin Islands. Culture Minister Elsebeth G. Nielsen and Danish National Archives director Johan P. Noack signed for Denmark.

At least two V.I. government officials are in Denmark as part of the Virgin Islands' formal agreement with that country to share archival material and cooperate in historic preservation. The agreement was signed Oct. 27, 1999, at a ceremony at Government House, St. Thomas.
Claudette Lewis, assistant commissioner of the Planning and Natural Resources Department, and Myron Jackson, director of the Division of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, traveled to Denmark as part of "the ongoing efforts," Government House spokeswoman Rina Jacobs McBrowne confirmed several days ago.
However, she said she does not know when they left, how long they will be there, what they are doing, whether anyone else is on the trip or the cost of the trip. She deferred to PNR spokeswoman Annette Morales for those details. But Morales said she was instructed by the Government House public relations office that that office is to handle inquiries about the trip.
McBrowne did say that a private organization, the Friends of the (Fort Christian) Museum, is picking up the tab.
That was news to Joseph Aubain, an officer with the not-for-profit Friends organization, who said it has a tight budget. Fort Christian Museum curator Delores Jowers, who heads up the Friends, said Lewis told her the trip is being funded through "some sort of grant."
Several non-V.I. government groups already have contributed to the general effort. Planning and Natural Resources held an archival symposium March 30 and April 1 on St. Thomas and St. Croix that was sponsored by the Danish Ministry of Culture, Topa Equities (VI) Ltd., the Virgin Islands Humanities Council, the West Indian Co. Ltd. and the Prosser/ICC Foundation.
The actual agreement between Denmark and the Virgin Islands lists the following initiatives:
* Surveying and arranging relevant documentation contained in the Danish West Indian Local Government Archives housed by the Danish National Archives in Copenhagen, assessing the material with respect to its preservation requirements.
* Surveying and processing the official records from the Danish period (1672-1917) housed by public authorities or institutions or in church or private collections in the Virgin Islands.
* Establishing collaboration with the National Archives of the United States to develop an archival survey of the Danish West Indian Local Government records housed there.
* Publishing comprehensive finding aids for the records mentioned above.
* Establishing on the basis of those archival surveys a program for copying the records and for distributing those copies with a view to supporting cultural, historical or genealogical activities in Denmark and in the Virgin Islands.
* Considering the possible transfer of original archival materials from the Danish West Indian Local Government Archives housed by the Danish National Archives to the Virgin Islands, and the preconditions for such transfer.
* Developing and implementing a training program for the Virgin Islands in the use and administration of archival records and in the Danish language and Gothic script, and a program for exchange of archival personnel.
* Developing a bilateral Archival Commission to be co-headed by the Danish National Archives and the Planning and Natural Resources Department to oversee the implementation of the activities pursuant to this agreement.
* Considering further cooperation in research into the history of the former Danish West Indies and in other fields related to the preservation of the common cultural heritage of Denmark and the Virgin Islands.
* Discussing the distribution of financial costs involved in the implementation of the activities pursuant to this agreement.
Gov. Charles W. Turnbull and PNR Commissioner Dean Plaskett signed the agreement on behalf of the Virgin Islands. Culture Minister Elsebeth G. Nielsen and Danish National Archives director Johan P. Noack signed for Denmark.

A disagreement between a commercial property owner and V.I. National Park officials over restroom facilities has prompted a senator to convene a meeting of his committee on St. John to try to "work something out."
At issue is the closing of two individual public restrooms at a popular tourist stopping place on Bordeaux Mountain. The facilities were constructed six months ago at the behest of Wilma Monsanto, owner of the property where the Chateau Bordeaux restaurant, a snack bar and gift shops are located, but not on her own land. She had them built on adjacent parkland.
Last month, V.I. National Park Supt. Russell Berry closed the water closets down, saying they were discharging sewage into the valley below. He also said that Monsanto never had a permit from the National Park Service to build the facilities.
The only restroom facilities at the complex, next to the Bordeaux overlook, are at Chateau Bordeaux; however, the restaurant is open only for dinner, not during the day.
Sen. Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg said in a release Friday that he believes the issue can be resolved with the cooperation of the National Park Service, the Public Works Department and the entrepreneurs doing business at the site. Toward that end, he has scheduled a meeting of the Senate Planning and Environmental Protection Committee on Monday, July 31, at 10 a.m. in the St. John Legislature Building conference room.
He is asking representatives of the National Park Service and the Planning and Natural Resources, Public Works and Tourism Departments to be present.
The closing of the restrooms "is inconveniencing tourists, taxi drivers and local business people," Donastorg said. "It is my hope that we can work something out to everyone's benefit, while ensuring the environment is protected."
Anyone wishing to testify at the July 31 hearing is asked to advise Donastorg's office in advance by calling 693-3665.

Residents and visitors got their first tours of the new National Park Visitor Center in Cruz Bay Friday. About 200 people attended the open house celebration that featured mocko jumbies, steelpan music and a lavish smorgasbord.
V.I. National Park spokesperson Paul Thomas said visitors were given tours of the new two-story building and shown where different divisions of the National Park Service will set up shop. R.W. Jenkins, park chief of maintenance and engineering, said departmental moves are expected to be completed by next week.
Among those on hand for opening were Delegate Donna Christian-Christensen, St. John administrator Julien Harley, Coral Bay author/educator Guy Benjamin, park service personnel from St. Thomas and St. Croix, and representatives of the Friends of the Virgin Islands National Park, the Tourism Department and the Small Business Administration.
The imposing new pale yellow building with green shutters, built on the site of the old and much smaller visitor center, includes handicapped-accessible ramps and restrooms. And, Thomas said, it has been wired for Internet accessibility.
Jenkins said the $3.2 million construction budget gave contractors an opportunity to create a center able to meet the needs of the park service for the next 20 years. "We've done some things that are considered state of the art, that will last a long time," he said.
Inspectors from the National Park Service regional office in Atlanta gave final approval to the project last week, Jenkins said. This is the go-ahead for the ranger station, interpretative section and administration to move in, he added.
Bookstore manager Zena Matthias was one of the first park employees to move from the tiny temporary quarters they had worked in for the last two years at the Morris F. DeCastro Clinic. "I'm elated. I have ample room," she said. "I have air-conditioning and storage and outside storage."
Matthias said she has a lot of new stock for the bookstore. She hasn't had a chance to put it all up yet, she said, and will be adding T-shirts and native crafts to her inventory.
New visitor center exhibits are still being developed.
The center is open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Dredging the St. Thomas harbor, yes. Dumping the spoils in Lindbergh Bay, no. This was the consensus of those testifying Friday before the Senate Planning and Environmental Protection Committee on the Port Authority's proposed deepening of the Charlotte Amalie harbor to make it accessible to larger cruise ships.
All testifying agreed that the dredging is necessary to accommodate the deeper-draft mega-cruise ships now being built. The problem, they also agreed, is what to do with the dredged material.
Discussion to date has centered on plans to dump the material – sand and other substances – into a huge hole on the floor of Lindbergh Bay – created, ironically, by a 1930s dredging project. At issue are the ecological impact the dumping would have on the bay and beach, and the commercial impact it would have on the the three hotels ringing the bay and neighboring businesses.
Testifying were Port Authority senior planner Darlin Brin; West Indian Co. spokesman Calvin Wheatley; Emerald Beach and Carib Beach Hotels owner William Dowling; attorney Ann Marie Rost, representing the Island Beachcomber Hotel; Helen Gjessing of the League of Women Voters; Carla Joseph, president of the Environmental Association of St. Thomas-St. John; Aimee Dempsey of the Port Authority's consulting firm, Bio Impact; Barbara Kojis of the Fish and Wildlife Division; and Coastal Zone Management director Janice Hodge.
Brin detailed the dredging project, initiated in 1997 but not followed through on until now, as the Port Authority faces the prospect of ever-larger ships and the need to accommodate them.
Lindbergh Bay is only one option for disposing of the dredged material, Brin said. "In fact," he said, "it looks like the Army Corps of Engineers may be leaning toward placing the ‘spoils,' the dredged material, in the municipal landfill" – a reference to Bovoni.
Committee chair Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg and the other two committee members present – Donald "Ducks" Cole and George Goodwin – asked about the toxicity of the spoils. Brin said samples from the harbor floor have been sent off-island for analysis. He said he doubted they would be found to contain dangerously toxic substances.
Angela Hodge-Sheen, a concerned citizen, voiced strong disapproval of dumping the material at the Bovoni landfill. "Whether it is toxic or not, it affects all of us," she said. "We all live here and breathe this air – what about all that silt flying around? We should all be concerned about one another."
Dowling, noting he has lived on Lindbergh Bay for almost 50 years, said he was "vehemently opposed to dumping 200,000 cubic yards of dredged debris in Lindbergh Bay."
Backing up the opposition of those testifying were letters from John deJongh Jr., president of the St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce; and Tom Bolt, attorney for the St. Thomas-St. John Hotel Association. They, like Gjessing and Joseph, acknowledged the need for the dredging project. Gjessing said a detailed environmental impact report is needed before anything is deposited into Lindbergh Bay.
Wheatley said the dredged material can be deposited temporarily on WICO-owned land until a place is identified for it to be disposed of permanently.
Kojis stated that filling in the Lindbergh Bay hole could have beneficial results in the long term but not in the short term. Dempsey agreed but said she thought the best plan was to let nature take its course in terms of filling the hole in the bay.
The Lindbergh site would need the approval of several government entities before any dumping could take place, Brin told the senators, and this will involve review by the Public Works and Planning and Natural Resources Departments. He said a public meeting on the matter is scheduled for 1 p.m. July 14 in the conference room of the Port Authority building at the edge of the Cyril E. King Airport. Representatives of the Army Corps of Engineers, the Port Authority, and Planning and Natural Resources have been asked to attend, he said.

Virgin Islands-based drug-enforcement authorities may get involved in an investigation stemming from the discovery on June 30 of 275 pounds of cocaine aboard a cargo ship in New York Harbor that had sailed from St. Croix a week earlier.
The drugs were found on board the Timachevsk, a 539-foot freighter of Liberian registry. Hovensa vice president Alexander Moorehead confirmed Friday that the vessel had left refinery's cargo port on St. Croix on June 23 bound for New York with a cargo of gasoline.
New York authorities are investigating the matter. Initial media reports said no crew members of the vessel were arrested.
Richard Holmes, St. Thomas resident agent-in-charge for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, said Friday that it was the second time in recent weeks that a commercial vessel traveling through the Eastern Caribbean was found to be carrying a sizable cache of drugs. Puerto Rico authorities reported finding a quantity of cocaine aboard a cargo ship coming from St. Maarten, he said.
"We do have some interest" in the Timachevsk case, Holmes said. However, he added, "I am not at liberty to discuss it."
According to published reports, dozens of bricks of cocaine were found by a U.S. Coast Guard party that boarded the vessel to render assistance after it collided with a navigation buoy in New York Harbor. The freighter damaged its rudder in the collision, and a contractor summoned to make repairs found several burlap bags in a space in the hull above the rudder, the New York Daily News reported last week. The bags were found to contain the bricks of cocaine.
The freighter's next scheduled destination was Venezuela.

Virgin Islands-based drug-enforcement authorities may get involved in an investigation stemming from the discovery on June 30 of 275 pounds of cocaine aboard a cargo ship in New York Harbor that had sailed from St. Croix a week earlier.
The drugs were found on board the Timachevsk, a 539-foot freighter of Liberian registry. Hovensa vice president Alexander Moorehead confirmed Friday that the vessel had left refinery's cargo port on St. Croix on June 23 bound for New York with a cargo of gasoline.
New York authorities are investigating the matter. Initial media reports said no crew members of the vessel were arrested.
Richard Holmes, St. Thomas resident agent-in-charge for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, said Friday that it was the second time in recent weeks that a commercial vessel traveling through the Eastern Caribbean was found to be carrying a sizable cache of drugs. Puerto Rico authorities reported finding a quantity of cocaine aboard a cargo ship coming from St. Maarten, he said.
"We do have some interest" in the Timachevsk case, Holmes said. However, he added, "I am not at liberty to discuss it."
According to published reports, dozens of bricks of cocaine were found by a U.S. Coast Guard party that boarded the vessel to render assistance after it collided with a navigation buoy in New York Harbor. The freighter damaged its rudder in the collision, and a contractor summoned to make repairs found several burlap bags in a space in the hull above the rudder, the New York Daily News reported last week. The bags were found to contain the bricks of cocaine.
The freighter's next scheduled destination was Venezuela.

Virgin Islands-based drug-enforcement authorities may get involved in an investigation stemming from the discovery June 30 of 275 pounds of cocaine aboard a cargo ship in New York Harbor that had sailed from St. Croix a week earlier.
The drugs were found on board the Timachevsk, a 539-foot freighter of Liberian registry. Hovensa vice president Alexander Moorhead confirmed Friday that the vessel had left the refinery's cargo port on St. Croix on June 23 bound for New York with a cargo of gasoline.
New York authorities are investigating the matter. Initial media reports said no crew members of the vessel were arrested.
Richard Holmes, St. Thomas resident agent-in-charge for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, said this was the second time in recent weeks that a commercial vessel traveling through the Eastern Caribbean was found to be carrying a sizable cache of drugs. Puerto Rico authorities reported finding a quantity of cocaine aboard a cargo ship coming from St. Maarten, he said.
"We do have some interest" in the Timachevsk case, Holmes said. However, he added, "I am not at liberty to discuss it."
According to published reports, dozens of bricks of cocaine were found by a U.S. Coast Guard party that boarded the vessel to render assistance after it collided with a navigation buoy in New York Harbor. The freighter damaged its rudder in the collision, and a contractor summoned to make repairs found several burlap bags in a space in the hull above the rudder, the New York Daily News reported last week. The bags were found to contain the bricks of cocaine.
The freighter's next scheduled destination was Venezuela.

In a courtroom overflowing with family, friends, judges, senators and federal justice personnel, former Assistant U.S. Attorney Audrey L. Thomas-Francis was sworn in Friday by Presiding Judge Maria Cabret as a judge of the Territorial Court.
It was hard to say who made up the largest portion of the audience — the many members of the Thomas clan, including educator Ruth Thomas; representatives of the District Court, including the Safe Street Task Force; or the educational community.
From the start, the ceremony took on aspects of a church service as Pastor Audley Charlton gave the invocation and Territorial Court Administrative Judge Brenda J. Hollar delivered opening remarks.
Hollar described Thomas-Francis at one point as a "prayer warrior" and at another as a very spiritual person. She also called the former prosecutor a "gracious adversary," citing one of their first courtroom encounters, where Hollar said she learned a lot about "friendly persuasion," as opposed to "acrimonious confrontation."
Jeanette Smith-Barry, Charlotte Amalie High School principal and lifelong friend, along with her late husband, Deputy U.S. Marshal Wilbur Barry, of Thomas-Francis, next took the podium. She teasingly told the audience that Thomas-Francis had kept pestering her, most recently at 6:45 Friday morning, asking, "Have you given any thought to what you might say?"
All of what Smith-Barry had to say was good, in praise of Thomas-Francis's Christian values and strong character. She warned anyone coming before the bench not to be fooled by the new judge's diminutive size.
Delegate Donna Christian-Christensen made a surprise appearance with brief remarks. "I'm thrilled I can be here," she said, adding for the benefit of people who "keep indicating I came from a long way" that, in fact, she "came from St. Croix." The delegate praised Thomas-Francis's abilities, looking back to the time when she had clerked for her father, the late Judge Almeric L. Christian. "Daddy only chose the very best," the delegate said.
A native St. Thomian, Thomas-Francis graduated from CAHS and the then-College of the Virgin Islands. Then she taught English on St.Thomas for seven years before moving to the mainland to continue her education. She graduated from the Howard University School of Law in 1984, spent a couple of years in private practice, and then joined the U.S. Attorney's Office in 1989.
Active in coordinating community outreach from the U.S. Attorney's Office, she is especially credited for her work with "Street Law" courses at CAHS. She also taught practical English to police officers.
Senate president Vargrave Richards, a former teacher, remarked that he had to be careful of his speech around Thomas-Francis, "or she will correct me – Vargrave, what was that?"
Gov. Charles W. Turnbull said the selection of judges is one of his most serious duties, one that keeps him awake at night. In the case of Thomas-Francis, he said, "It was a joy to nominate her."
In a brief and solemn response, the new judge, modest amid all the attention, thanked Turnbull and the senators who had unanimously approved her nomination. She said she would need the "wisdom of Solomon and the patience of Job," quoting scripture which was taken up by the audience. She said she looked forward to her judicial future knowing that "Christ strengthens me."
Attorney Amos Carty Jr., master of ceremonies for the installation service, smilingly concluded, "I know it's Friday, but it seems like Sunday. I don't know whether it's a ceremony or a church service."
With Thomas-Francis's installation, following that of Rhys Hodge last month, the Territorial Court for the St. Thomas-St. John district now has its full complement of five judges. Those in addition to Hollar, Hodge and Thomas-Francis are Ishmael Meyers and Ive Swan.