Human remains identified a year later as missing Crawford County man

A little more than a year after a hunter stumbled upon human remains in a wooded area in Crawford County, the deceased was identified as a man who’d been missing since summer 2014.

Scattered bones found off Old Knoxville Road last January were identified Wednesday afternoon as the remains of local man Michael Joseph Sanders, Crawford County Sheriff Lewis Walker said in a news release Thursday.

A DNA test by the GBI confirmed Sanders’ identity.

Sanders was reported missing by a family member on June 12, 2014, the release said. His remains were found on Jan. 24, 2016.

GBI investigators combed the wooded area and collected about 90 percent of Sanders’ skeleton in the same area, something J.T. Ricketson, GBI special agent in charge, was surprised by at the time.

"Most of the time ... you only find, you know, 20 to 30 percent of the skeleton,” Ricketson told the Telegraph last year.

Walker met with Sanders’ family Wednesday evening to let them know about the remains.

It was unclear if foul play was suspected. The investigation is ongoing.

Anyone with any information about Sanders’ death is asked to contact the GBI at 478-987- 4545, the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office at 478-836- 3116, or call Macon Regional Crimestoppers at 1-877-68-CRIME.

This story was originally published February 2, 2017 at 2:39 PM with the headline "Human remains identified a year later as missing Crawford County man."