Florida school said to yield bones of 55

TAMPA, Fla. - The remains of 55 people have been unearthed from a graveyard at a former reform school with a history of abuse, researchers said Tuesday.

University of South Florida researchers began excavating the graveyard at the now-closed Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in September. The dig finished in December.

Official records indicated 31 burials at the Marianna site, but researchers had estimated there would be about 50 graves.

Some were found under roads or overgrown trees, well away from the white, metal crosses marking the 31 officially recorded graves.

Now researchers will try to identify the remains and determine the causes of death. The bodies were buried sometime between the late 1920s and early 1950s, researchers said.

Front Section, Pages 8 on 01/29/2014

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