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A human skull and other bones found behind a Dunkin' Donuts store in Columbus, Georgia in June 2021 have been identified as a man missing since 2019, according to the Muscogee county coroner.

Police said the remains included a skull. And this made it possible to create an accurate forensic sketch.  In June 2021, a forensic sketch was released in hopes that someone would recognize the missing man.

Man missing since 2019 identified

Investigators have identified the remains as Matthew Turner, 41. 

Columbus police got a report that Turner was missing in January 2019. And he was last seen on Front Avenue in uptown Columbus. Where the remains were found two years later near Veterans Parkway, a few hundred yards away from where Turner was last seen.

The bones were discovered in the woods behind a shopping center of businesses in the 6000 block of Veterans Pkwy. They were turned over to the Muscogee County Coroner’s Office in 2021. And eventually sent to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation headquarters for further investigation.

Muscogee County coroner Buddy Bryan said "We received a verbal confirmation from the GBI [Georgia Bureau of Investigation] medical examiner's office as to his identity.

Although Turner has been identified, the medical examiner was not able to determine the cause of death. 

Bryan explained that “The hard copy of the autopsy will be forthcoming. We have notified the legal next-of-kin, his father. At the father's request, we will be cremating the bones."

The coroner added that the autopsy report is expected to be released in the next two to three weeks.

The Unidentified Persons System (NamUS) tracks missing persons.

Every year about 600,000 people go missing across the US. and around 4,400 unidentified bodies are recovered. Sadly about 1,000 of the bodies found are still unidentified one year after discovery. 

In Georgia, 389 missing person cases remain open. And according to the NamUS database, 255 people whose remains have been found are still unidentified.