Police say severed arm belonged to Montana man

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Police say a severed arm found next to railroad tracks in Springfield belonged to a Montana man who committed suicide last month just outside Libby.

A BNSF Railway employee found the arm Monday at a rail yard. Authorities say the arm apparently was caught in the undercarriage of a train and dislodged in Springfield.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol’s forensic laboratory used fingerprint analysis to determine the arm belonged to William Escudero Sr. of Libby.

Escudero died Jan. 14 after he was hit by a train in the area of the East Fifth Street extension outside Libby.

“Evidence indicates that the male intentionally stepped in front of the train,” according to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.

Escudero died a week after his father, Andy, 59, survived a bus accident outside Missoula on Jan. 8. Andy Escudero suffered broken ribs when he was thrown from the bus.

In the bus accident on Interstate 90, two people were killed and more than 30 were injured.