Remains found late last year in rural Rains County have been identified as a retired Dallas firefighter who disappeared more than six years ago, authorities said Friday.
Michael Chambers, 70, was last seen leaving a Quinlan Walmart near his home in Hunt County on March 10, 2017. Extensive searches around the area turned up no sign of him.
Presumed human remains were discovered in late November of last year in a wooded area off U.S. 287 east of the city of East Tawakoni. The Texas Rangers and the Rains County and Hunt County sheriff’s offices recovered the remains which were sent to the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification in Fort Worth.
"Since the recovery of the remains investigators have awaited the results of the examination, the process of obtaining a DNA profile and process of identifying the DNA profile," read a statement from the Hunt County Sheriff's Office in the Greenville Herald-Banner. "The Hunt County Sheriff’s Office recently obtained those results and have been in contact with family members of the identified person."
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“I ask for the continued prayers for the Chambers family. Mr. Chambers family have waited for answers for a long time, and I hope this brings some closure to the Chambers family. This remains an open investigation and my office will continue to diligently investigate this case," Hunt County Sheriff Terry Jones said in a statement to the newspaper.
The sheriff's office said the investigation is ongoing.
