Skeletal remains discovered in 2021 have been identified as those of a man missing for more than a decade, the Paulding County Sheriff's Office announced Thursday.

Authorities confirmed through DNA testing that the remains belong to Thomas Joe Kratzer, who was reported missing in February 2014 after his family had not heard from him since October 2013.

According to the NamUs database, deputies conducted a welfare check for Kratzer at his last known address on Seals Road in Dallas, Ga. The home was empty, and according to the police report, everything of value was gone. The last vehicle he owned was a Ford Explorer that was never registered.

Kratzer was 55 at the time of his disappearance.

On Sept. 22, 2021, a property owner on Mount Olivet Road found human remains while clearing land

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