SPENCER COUNTY, Ind. — Human remains found by two hunters in southern Indiana were identified Sunday as a man who has been missing since 2018.
Donald "Donnie" Westfall Jr. was last seen on June 27, 2018, in Chrisney, which is located on the Indiana-Kentucky border about 80 miles west of Louisville.
Since he disappeared, Westfall's family has been searching for him, posting updates on a Facebook page dedicated to uncovering what happened to the 40-year-old.
His family finally got answers this weekend after two hunters stumbled upon human remains in a rural area of Spencer County.
The hunters were in the area, near the intersection of U.S. 231 and County Road 100 North, were looking for deer shed antlers when they discovered what they believed to be human bones.
They found the bones early Saturday afternoon and called 911 to report their discovery.
"I commend the hunters who came forward yesterday. I don't know who they are, but I would love to have the chance to speak with them," Indiana State Police Sgt. Robbie Lambert said. "I just can't express how important it is to law enforcement to have the support of our communities."
State police held a press conference Sunday to announced that the remains were those of Donald Westfall Jr.
"I want to say this has been a long time coming for us. We knew that we would one day find Donnie and be able to properly lay him to rest - and today is that day," the family wrote in a Facebook post after the press conference.
The family thanked everyone involved in helping find Westfall, including the two hunters, law enforcement, and the thousands of people that followed their Facebook page for updates on this case and to keep his memory alive.
"Donnie- we love you and we're heartbroken that your life was cut short. Know that you can rest now. We'll take it from here," the post said.
At this point, police are conducting a death investigation. Investigators said it's too early to tell if there was any foul play in Westfall's death. Lambert said there will be a forensic examination in the coming days.
"For many of you, this has been a long time coming, it's been 1,723 days to be exact. I'm sorry you had to wait that long, but I do want to tell you that we did not forget about Mr. Westfall," Lambert said.
Lambert said investigators looked over "hundreds and hundreds of tips" over the last five years.
One of the sergeants leading the case said his team put "thousands and thousands of hours" into the case. He added that, almost monthly, they were out investigating a tip and that they executed "countless" search warrants.