wtov9 - A historic Brooke County mansion is at the center of a police and paranormal investigation after skeletal remains were found hidden in a wall.
The remains were found at Aspen Manor in Wellsburg after paranormal investigators said they sensed someone was buried in a basement wall and heard a voice saying, "Help me. I'm stuck inside of this wall," the sheriff said.
Sheriff Richard Ferguson said the bones had "been chopped up into pieces" and had saw marks on them. Investigators also found glasses, hair and other items in the same wall. The remains were removed and are being sent to the state medical examiner, who will determine if they are human or animal.
The owner of the building, Gene Valentine, said the paranormal group came to the mansion to film because of the mansion's rich history and said he isn't surprised by the find.
The mansion was built in the 1895 by the Vandergrift family as a boys' getaway that hosted gambling and cockfights. Later, it changed hands and the Catholic community took over and turned it into an assisted living home. Most recently, Valentine turned it into a bed and breakfast.
Valentine said he is in the process of remodeling, but said if officials determine the bones are human, he will let them do whatever is necessary to investigate and find out what else might be hidden on the property.
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RENOVATION OF ASPEN MANOR - 8/1/09
Aspen Manor is no longer operating as an assisted living facility, but it will continue as a bed and breakfast and budget hotel, said owner Gene Valentine.Valentine said 20 rooms in the assisted living facility section of the building will be marketed as low-cost hotel accommodations, while 10 rooms in the section that comprised the Vandergrift mansion will be available as bed and breakfast accommodations in a higher price range.
Valentine added the Eagle's Nest lodge will continue to be available as a rental hall, and he's working with a local economic development group to bring a new business to the site of the Bethany equestrian center he established several years ago.
Located above Wellsburg, WV off Brinker Road, Aspen Manor was the summer home of Joseph Vandergrift, a wealthy Pennsylvania industrialist, in the early 1900s.
It was designed by Frank Alden and Alfred Harlow, Pittsburgh architects who designed many homes for the wealthy.
Over the years the mansion, with additions, became a home for retired clergy operated by the Knights of St. George and an assisted care facility operated by the William Penn Association and the Catholic Knights of America before Valentine purchased it for $1.9 million.
Valentine said he invested $1.5 million in renovations to the building and adjacent facilities, including a new hardwood floor, kitchen and sound system at the former Knights of St. George Lodge, which he redubbed the Eagle's Nest in recognition of the property's scenic view.
But Valentine said he was unable to recover financial losses assumed by the Catholic Knights of America and under his own management.
He said much of the loss was due to many residents being wards of the state because they lacked the means to support themselves. All of the facility's patients have been relocated to other approved facilities, he noted.
Valentine said he's hopeful Aspen Manor can continue as a bed and breakfast and hotel, and he plans to market it for getaway retreats and business conferences.
Rebecca Morrison, marketing director for Aspen Manor, said the site is a unique and ideal location for weddings.
He said he plans to hire a firm to install a geothermal heating system at the mansion, including its indoor swimming pool, which he plans to refurbish.
He expects the move to reduce the facility's heating expense, which averages $25,000 a year, by 90 percent.
Valentine estimated such plans and renovations to additional rooms there will cost about $1.5 million to $2 million, but he remains committed to the property, which also is his home.
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