Human remains found in Conway County on Friday afternoon are to be transported to the state Crime Laboratory for DNA testing to seek a match for a Vilonia man who disappeared in August.
About 4:30 p.m. Friday, a passer-by spotted the remains in the woods off Bell Mountain Road near Menifee and reported the find to the Conway County sheriff's office, Coroner Jason McCoy said Saturday.
McCoy said that although the sex and age have not been determined, the remains likely had been in the woods less than a year.
Near the remains was a four-wheeler that "kind of matches the description" of the blue 1998 Yamaha four-wheeler Leonard Nix had with him when he disappeared Aug. 2. McCoy said Nix's 2004 Toyota Tacoma was last seen in Menifee.
According to missingveterans.com, Nix is a Navy veteran who disappeared after leaving for his monthly camping trip to Brock Creek, just outside Jerusalem.
His son, Marty, has told several news outlets that Nix needed medication to prevent impaired judgment.
The Crime Lab will test the remains to see whether the DNA is a match for Nix, McCoy said. If not, the remains will be tested for other matches.
"They should be able to positively identify who it is," McCoy said.
Metro on 10/04/2015