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Human remains found near Santa Claus ID’d as man missing since 2018

CHRISNEY, Ind. (WISH) — Human bones discovered Saturday in Spencer County have been identified as a man missing for nearly five years, Indiana State Police confirmed Sunday.

Donald Westfall Jr., known to his friends and family as “Donnie,” was last seen on June 27, 2018, according to a Facebook page set up by family members.

The remains were found Saturday afternoon by two hunters who were looking for deer antlers along US 231 near County Road 1000 North, about 20 minutes south of Santa Claus, state police said on Facebook.

An anthropologist positively identified the remains as belonging to Westfall.

State police say it’s “too early” to determine exactly what happened to Westfall or how and why he died.

Westfall’s family updated the Facebook page they dedicated to finding him with the following statement:

“We knew that we would one day find Donnie and be able to properly lay him to rest – and today is that day. We want to thank all of the law enforcement involved in finding him. We want to thank the 2 hunters that found him…and we especially want to thank all of the people who have followed Donnie’s case online and helped keep his memory alive.”