On March 31st, human remains dug up in the South Billings backyard earlier this month belonged to a 56-year-old man named Ronald Lander, missing. Since 2021, code enforcement officers stumbled on the body under a tent while clearing out the overgrown, cluttered yard. An anonymous tip back in July 2024 sparked a whole cleanup after a court order. The property owner's son, Will, explained his dad, who passed in 2020, had let Lander pitch a tent there years back.
They lost track of him way before that, no clue where he vanished to. Corner's office figures the remains sat there for years, but no cause of death yet. Official stress-tackling junkie lots like this keeps bugs, rats, and hazards out of neighborhoods. Will called the code team helpful during the process and just wishes he could have done more for Lander as the probe rolls on.