DNA testing on skeletal remains found in a car pulled from an Illinois river confirmed they are those of two men who vanished in 1976 after leaving a farm auction, authorities said.

Testing performed by the Illinois State Police Division of Forensic Services confirmed they are the remains of Clarence Owens and Everett Hawley, the Winnebago County Coroner’s Office said Tuesday.

Hawley, 72, of Stockton, Illinois, and Owens, 65, of Freeport, Illinois, vanished after leaving a farm auction on Feb. 19, 1976, near the Winnebago-Ogle county line, the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office said

Hawley was a real estate broker in Freeport, while Owens was a salesperson in Hawley’s firm.

“This bring us one step closer to providing closure to the families of Clarence Owens and Everett Hawley who have waited many years for answers that have been affected by this tragic case,” Winnebago County Sheriff Gary Caruana said in a statement.

In March, people fishing along the Pecatonica River discovered a submerged vehicle in the river using a sonar fish finder. 

“It’s quite challenging because it’s sitting in the mud, 8 to 10 feet, which is not that deep but deep enough,” Sheriff Caruana told CBS affiliate WIFR-TV after the discovery.

Recovery crews then used a crane to pull the 1966 Chevrolet Impala sedan from the river in the village of Pecatonica, the Rockford Register Star reported. The men had left the farm auction in that vehicle, authorities said.

Owens and Hawley were seen at the farm auction with the Impala, which belonged to Owens and which had a new coat of gold paint at the time, according to the Doe Network, a nonprofit database for information about missing and unidentified people. The men had attended a political rally in the area before stopping at the auction, and planned to make a shared appointment in German Valley, about 25 miles west of Winnebago County, after leaving the auction. They never made that appointment

More than 100 bones were retrieved from the vehicle and the river at the site about 100 miles west of Chicago. DNA extracted from the bones was compared with DNA profiles from the men’s relatives to identify them.

Before the DNA testing, the remains were examined by a forensic anthropologist in St. Louis, Missouri, who found no evidence of trauma.

Winnebago County Coroner Jennifer Muraski told WIFR-TV that how the two men died is still unknown, but no foul play is suspected.

“This is a testament to the dedication and perseverance of our detectives and forensic experts,” Sheriff Caruana said. “It’s a reminder that no case is ever truly closed no matter how much time has passed.”

contributed to this report.

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The 2024-5 NFL season is off to a strong start and intense storylines are already writing themselves. The reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs have begun their campaign to win their third consecutive Super Bowl with a Week 1 victory over the Baltimore Ravens. The Miami Dolphins scored a win over the Jacksonville Jaguars thanks to an end-of-game rebound, while Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen pulled out all the stops to push the Bills to a 34-28 victory over the Arizona Cardinals.

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Our picks for the biggest and best games of NFL Week 2

Week 2 of the 2024-2025 NFL season offers big-time matchups you won’t want to miss. Here are our picks for the top three games of the week, all available to watch live with a subscription to Fubo.

It’s not just that both the Saints and the Cowboys scored Week 1 victories, it’s how they won that has us adding Sunday’s New Orleans Saints vs. Dallas Cowboys game to our must-watch list. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott became the highest-paid player in NFL history, signing a four-year, $240-million contract extension prior to Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns. Prescott went on to completely dominate the Browns in a 33-17 thumping that revealed a vulnerable Browns offense.

Derek Carr led the Saints to a 47-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers. Carr’s historically uneven play was nowhere to be seen on Sunday, replaced by an energized and efficient slinger who missed just four of his 23 throws. If Carr and the Saints continue to excel as they did in Week 1, fans are guaranteed a top-tier game when the Saints face the Cowboys in Week 2.

• New Orleans Saints vs. Dallas Cowboys
• 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT)
• Fox (Fubo)

The reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs ride into their Week 2 game against the Cincinnati Bengals following a 27-20 Week 1 victory over the Baltimore Ravens. The Chiefs won by a toe (literally) and showed off a tough defense that worked well together, beating a strong Ravens team expected to be championship-worthy this season. The Bengals suffered a messy Week 1 loss to the New England Patriots, but a healthy Joe Burrow should never be underestimated. 

Burrow and Chiefs quarterback Pat Mahomes are the last two starting AFC quarterbacks to play in the Super Bowl and Burrow is one of two quarterbacks to beat Mahomes in the postseason. The other is Tom Brady, who will be calling the Saints vs. Cowboys game earlier in the day.

• Cincinnati Bengals vs. Kansas City Chiefs
• 4:25 p.m. ET (1:25 p.m. PT)
• CBS (Fubo)

Chicago Bears fans have delighted in the hope that USC alum Caleb Williams will finally bring winning to Soldier Field. So far, so good. Williams may have had a spotty NFL regular season debut on Sunday, but the Bears secured a win over the Tennessee Titans. 

The Texans were victorious over the Indianapolis Colts in Week 1 and sophomore quarterback C.J. Stroud proved he wasn’t a fluke last season. The Bears vs. Texans game gives the Texans a rare “Sunday Night Football” game that will display the skills of two future elite NFL quarterbacks. We’ll be watching.

• Chicago Bears vs. Houston Texans
• 8:20 p.m. ET (5:20 p.m. PT)
• NBC (Fubo)

NFL Week 2 full schedule

The 2024-5 NFL regular season began on Thursday, September 5, 2024. The regular season concludes on Sunday, January 5, 2025. Below is the schedule for Week 2 of the 2024-5 NFL season. Note that the game you see on your local affiliate will depend on your geographical area.  

All time Eastern.

Thursday, Sept. 12

• Buffalo Bills at Miami Dolphins, 8:15 p.m. (Prime Video)

Sunday, Sept. 15

• Las Vegas Raiders at Baltimore Ravens, 1 p.m. (CBS)
• Los Angeles Chargers at Carolina Panthers, 1 p.m. (CBS)
• New Orleans Saints at Dallas Cowboys, 1 p.m. (FOX)
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Detroit Lions, 1 p.m. (FOX)
• Indianapolis Colts at Green Bay Packers, 1 p.m. (FOX)
• Cleveland Browns at Jacksonville Jaguars, 1 p.m. (CBS)
• San Francisco 49ers at Minnesota Vikings, 1 p.m. (CBS)
• Seattle Seahawks at New England Patriots, 1 p.m. (FOX)
• New York Jets at Tennessee Titans, 1 p.m. (CBS)
• New York Giants at Washington Commanders, 1 p.m. (FOX)
• Los Angeles Rams at Arizona Cardinals, 4:05 p.m.  (FOX)
• Pittsburgh Steelers at Denver Broncos, 4:25 p.m. (CBS)
• Cincinnati Bengals at Kansas City Chiefs, 4:25 p.m. (CBS)
• Chicago Bears at Houston Texans, 8:20 p.m. (NBC)

Monday, Sept. 16

• Atlanta Falcons at Philadelphia Eagles, 8:15 p.m. (ESPN)

Key dates for the 2024-5 NFL season

The 2024-5 NFL regular season began on Sept. 5, 2024, when the Super Bowl LVIII champion Kansas City Chiefs host the Baltimore Ravens.

• Aug. 1: NFL Hall of Fame game (Bears vs. Texans)
• Aug. 8-11: First preseason weekend
• Aug. 15-18: Second preseason weekend
• Aug. 22- 25: Third preseason weekend
• Aug. 27: Deadline for all teams to reduce rosters to 53 players
• Sept. 1: Final day of preseason training camp
• Sept. 5: NFL regular season begins (Ravens vs. Chiefs)
• Sept. 6: NFL Friday game from São Paulo, Brazil (Packers vs. Eagles, 8:15 p.m. ET on Peacock)
• Oct. 6: NFL International Game from London (Jets vs. Vikings, 9:30 a.m. ET, NFL Network)
• Oct. 13: NFL International Game from London (Jaguars vs. Bears, 9:30 a.m. ET, NFL Network)
• Oct. 20: NFL International Game from London, (Patriots vs. Jaguars, 9:30 a.m. ET, NFL Network)
• Nov. 5: NFL trade deadline
• Nov. 29: Black Friday Game: (Raiders vs. Chiefs, 3 p.m. ET, Prime Video)
• Dec. 25: Netflix-exclusive Christmas Day games: (Chiefs vs. Steelers, 1 p.m. ET), (Ravens vs. Texans, 4:30 p.m. ET)
• Jan. 11-13: Super Wild Card Weekend
• Jan. 18-19: Divisional Playoff Games
• Jan. 26: AFC & NFC Championship Games
• Feb. 2: Pro Bowl Games
• Feb. 9: Super Bowl LIX (Caesars Superdome in New Orleans)

Attorney General Merrick Garland is condemning “an escalation of attacks” against the Justice Department and pushing back against what he says are the “conspiracy theories, dangerous falsehoods…and threats of actual violence” that endanger the department’s employees. 

Garland’s defense of the federal employees who work for the Justice Department will be part of a speech he’s delivering to staff Thursday. 

Billed as an address about the department’s norms, the attorney general will praise the efforts of federal prosecutors and investigators and stress the independence of the Justice Department. 

“Our norms are a promise that we will not allow this nation to become a country where law enforcement is treated as an apparatus of politics,” Garland is expected to say, according to excerpts of his remarks obtained by CBS News. 

Garland’s comments come as the presidential election enters its final stretch, nearly four years after the tumultuous presidential transition amid the assault on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. 

“The public servants of the Department of Justice do not bend to politics,” the attorney general is expected to say. “We will fiercely protect the independence of this Department from political interference in our criminal investigations.” 

The Justice Department has weathered heavy criticism from Republicans and Democrats for its handling of various politically sensitive probes, including investigations into former President Donald Trump, President Biden and the president’s son, Hunter Biden. 

Trump was charged in two cases by special counsel Jack Smith — one for alleged conduct tied to his efforts to remain in power after he lost the 2020 election, and another now-dismissed case brought for alleged mishandling of classified information. He and his allies have accused the government of “weaponizing” the Justice Department against them. 

Another special counsel, Robert Hur, investigated President Joe Biden after classified documents from his time as vice president were found in his private residence and personal office. Hur opted not to charge the president and notably characterized Mr. Biden as an “elderly man with a poor memory,” a description that prompted an outcry from some Democrats. And Hunter Biden, the president’s son, pleaded guilty last week to numerous counts of tax fraud filed by a third special counsel, David Weiss. 

Because of the political nature of the probes, Garland elevated all three men to special counsel roles and has said they’ve operated independently. Still, they’ve faced setbacks. 

One setback came in July, when the Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling that afforded former presidents — including Trump –  immunity from prosecution for “official acts” taken while in office. The case was brought by Trump as a challenge to Smith’s election-related indictment against the former president. 

Some of the alleged conduct the high court ruled to be out of bounds for federal prosecutors involved Trump’s interactions with Justice Department officials in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election. 

“We will not allow this Department to be used as a political weapon,” Garland is expected to say. 

There has been an increase in threats against Justice Department employees and other law enforcement officials, members of Congress and their staff in recent years. In June, the attorney general highlighted in congressional testimony “a worrying spike in threats of violence against those who serve the public.” 

“Those threats have targeted members of Congress, police officers, judges, jurors, election workers, and the Justice Department’s own employees,” he said. 

The attorney general is highlighting these threats again Thursday, against the backdrop of a tight presidential race and a fraught political landscape. 

“It is dangerous to target and intimidate individual employees of this Department simply for doing their jobs,” Garland will tell the workforce. “It is outrageous that you have to face these unfounded attacks because you are doing what is right and upholding the rule of law…You deserve better.”