Nearly 50-year-old cold case: Human remains found in drained New York swamp identified

Greenville, N.Y. – In September 1991, troopers were called to a drained swamp in Orange County for a grisly discovery: a skull and other skeletal remains, some buried about a foot underground.

On Wednesday, the State Police announced they have identified the remains as Mikolai Celesz, of Port Jervis, who was 76 when a relative reported him missing on Oct. 1, 1976.

DNA, personal belongings and an old police log helped troopers identify the remains decades later.

Coins found near the remains pointed to a mid-1970s timeframe, but the evidence did not reveal the person’s identity, troopers said.

For decades, investigators pursued leads through interviews, public appeals and DNA testing.

A breakthrough came when the FBI’s Questioned Documents Unit examined personal property from the scene