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Last updated on Monday, February 1, 2016
(HARRISON CO.) - Police in Harrison County, Indiana say they have identified the remains found Thursday as a man who has been missing since early 2014.
According to a press release from the Harrison County Sheriff's Department, investigators found a wallet, glasses, a car key and an Indiana driver's license with the remains and have identified the they believe the remains belong to 56-year-old George Ronald Schmidt.
Schmidt has been missing since the spring of 2014, when he was last seen at a Mauckport bar now know as the RiverBottom Inn. His remains where found about a mile away from that location, despite Indiana State Police searching the area.
"They did canvass the area but this is a very remote area and it's over grown and very rugged terrain," Seelye said. "It frequently floods when the river gets up so it would have been easy to miss."
Harrison County Sheriff Rod Seelye said Friday evening the identification was made earlier in the afternoon with the help of anthropologists from Indianapolis based on the personal effects found with the remains.
Investigators note the identification is preliminary, but Schmidt's family has been notified. The investigation will involve DNA and dental record comparisons to confirm the identity.
"We will probably be able to match dental records...relatively quickly," Seelye said.
Seelye said police will not speculate on the cause of death until a full skeletal examination can be completed.
"They didn't want to hear that a family member may potentially be dead," Seelye said when asked about communicating with the family. "But I do believe it did bring some closure."
The remains were found Thursday morning by a state highway worker underneath a bridge on Highway 135 in southern Harrison Co.
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