The partial skeleton discovered last week in Jenkins County was that of a missing person from Statesboro, Victor Sweet, the Statesboro Police Department confirmed Wednesday morning.
Sweet was reported missing May 6 by family members, who told police he was last seen around midnight May 3 in the 100 block of Proctor Street, according to a police department Nixle alert issued at the time.
Sweet failed to return home or show up for work, prompting family members to report him missing to Statesboro police, according to a Georgia Bureau of Investigation statement issued.
Investigator Ben Purvis, of the Statesboro Police Department, followed numerous leads, for several months, in an attempt to locate Sweet, the GBI said.
When he was reported missing, family members told police they feared Sweet, who had epilepsy, did not have his medication with him. Police and family members said at the time that they feared for his safety, especially because he was prone to suffering from epileptic seizures.
A 14-year-old boy found the skeletal remains at 7 p.m. Dec. 31, while hunting south of Millen, off Edna Lanier Road, Jenkins County Sheriff Robert Oglesby said last week.
Oglesby requested assistance from the GBI. The skeletal remains were collected and taken to the GBI's medical examiner's office in Decatur. The remains were positively identified as those of Sweet, the GBI said.
The GBI will be the lead agency in the investigation into the circumstances of Sweet's death. The Jenkins County Sheriff's Office and the Statesboro Police Department will assist in the investigation.
This case is still under investigation, and no further information is being released at this time, according to a Statesboro police news release issued Wednesday.
The GBI, Jenkins County Sheriff's Office and Statesboro Police Department are requesting help from anyone with information regarding Sweet's death.
Anyone with information concerning this case is asked to contact the Statesboro Police Department at (912) 764-9911. You may also anonymously submit information to www.tipsoft.com or by sending a text message beginning with "TIPSSPD" to 274637 (CRIMES). All information is strictly confidential.