In a Monday afternoon news conference, authorities from three different counties confirmed the bones found in Bon Wier in July 2023 were that of Wayne Ayers, a 52-year-old Vidor man last seen in April 2023.
Deputies from the Jasper, Newton and Orange County Sheriff's Offices were in attendance at the news conference at the Jasper County Sheriff's Office.
Authorities confirm Ayers' death is being investigated as a homicide.
Investigators confirmed in August that the remains found in two separate locations in Bon Wier were from the same person.
The remains were found in two spots not far from each other on July 10 and July 15, 2023.
"We got a cadaver dog from the parks and wildlife and they went to all the areas where we recovered the remains from. I needed to know if that area was a dumping ground for bodies. I'm convinced that it's not," Newton County Sheriff Robert Burby said during the news conference.
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The family of Ayers previously told 12News they hadn't seen or heard from their loved one since Wednesday, April 19, 2023. Ayer's niece, Kassy Ketchum, said he was last seen in his father's silver 2020 Kia Soul.
Officer Karli Cherry with Jasper County Sheriff's Office confirmed with 12News the Kia Soul Ayers was last seen driving was later found burned on Mansfield Ferry Road in Orange County on April 22, 2023.
WATCH | Here's the full news conference
Ayers was supposed to go to Harbor Freight in Beaumont that Wednesday around 1:30 p.m. to get items to fix his truck, according to Ketchum. Ketchum said her uncle said he would be right back, but the family had not seen or heard from him since.
Cherry said the address Ayers was last seen leaving is in Jasper County.
The human skull was found on July 10 on a sand bar near the Sabine River and a human backbone was found on a bluff on July 15 near the river off off County Road 4085 in Bon Wier.
Lab tests confirmed the bones were from a person, Newton County Sheriff Robert Burby told 12News at the time.
Investigators returned to the site with a cadaver dog to do a second sweep of the area, but they did not find additional body parts.
Neighbors who had lived in the area for about three years previously told 12News that they're terrified.
"Cause you don't expect anything like that to happen near your home, and it was just a disturbing experience. Now, we can't even look over there on that sand bar without thinking of that," they said.
Burby says they are putting all their efforts into this case.
"We are going forward in attempts to further this investigation and track every lead to bring justice and closure to the family," he said.
The state of Ayers' body makes it hard to tell how he was killed, according to Burby.
"We need your help. The family needs your help. The family deserves your help and we want you to help us, because you never know. This might hit you close to home. You've got people out there, doing things like this," the sheriff said.
Burby says prior to the identification, his office received a lot of tips from family members with missing relatives, some even missing since 1974.
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This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when\ we receive more confirmed information.