[1] Since 1964, Chatters has participated in archeological studies and excavations, and provided osteological analyses throughout the western US and the Pacific Northwest, as well as Hawaii, Alaska, Minnesota, Texas, the province of Saskatchewan in Canada, and the country of Brazil.
[1] In 1987, Chatters relocated to the Tri-Cities, where he joined the staff of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, also known as Battelle-Northwest, serving as senior research scientist in the environmental sciences department.
[4] At the time of the discovery, Chatters owned a forensics consulting business called Applied Paleoscience,[3] in which he often worked with local government officials and law enforcement to assist with criminal investigations.
On the early evening of the discovery, the Benton County Coroner, Floyd Johnson, called Chatters to ask him to take a look at the skull to determine if it belonged to a current or recent crime victim.
Chatters, eager to help, invited Johnson to bring the skull over to his home, after which they quickly returned to the discovery site to gather more skeletal remains, before the sun would set that evening.
[2] Various Northwest tribes, including the Umatilla, Yakama, Colville, Nez Perce, and Wanapum nations all asserted rights to claim the remains for immediate reburial, without further scientific study or examination.