A federal judge, according to The Associated Press, recently threw out a lawsuit last month filed by Geronimo's descendents. Twenty of the Apache warrior's descendants were hoping to rebury him near his birthplace in New Mexico.
Last year's suit alleged that Skull and Bones, a secret society at Yale University, pilfered Geronimo's remains from his Oklahoma burial spot at Fort Sill, where he died two years after statehood, according to AP.
Judge Richard Roberts reportedly granted a motion to dismiss, claiming plaintiffs did not establish that the U.S. government had waived its right not to be sued without consent. Roberts also dismissed suit against the secret society and Yale, pointing out that plaintiffs were citing a law applicable to Native American items discovered or excavated since 1990.
Harlyn Geronimo, the famous Apache's great grandson, told AP he believes Skull and Bones members transported some remains in 1918 to keep in its clubhouse, which is a crypt.
Were Geronimo's bones stolen by Prescott Bush (father of 41 and grandpappy of 43) and now located at Yale's Skull and Bones? In 2005, Oklahoma Gazette writer Ben Fenwick posed those questions to Cecil Adams' syndicated "The Straight Dope" column.
"This story has everything " famous names, a secret society, a generous helping of the macabre," Adams wrote in response. "What it doesn't have a lot of is facts."
According to Adams, the S&B's description didn't fit the real burial site. And Kitty Kelley, the celebrity biographer, wrote that Prescott and friends concocted the tale that lives on today.
"A Fort Sill spokesman tells me, 'There is no evidence to indicate the bones are anywhere but in the grave site,'" Adams wrote. "I'm betting what's left of Geronimo is still at Fort Sill."
