() Tyler Goodrich’s sister Felicia Nichelson says one of the hardest things to hear when she learned his remains were found was that they had been so close to her brother when they’d been searching for him for so long.

Goodrich, of Nebraska, had been missing since November 2023.  Police said Tuesday that they discovered Goodrich’s remains around a highway near his home after someone reported a body.

Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Ben Houchin said preliminary results of the agency’s investigation led them to believe this was not a homicide.

Nichelson says “there’s more information that needs to come out” about the circumstances surrounding Goodrich’s death.

“Tyler was such an important person to so many people. For me, he was my oldest little brother, he was someone who always had a smile on his face, he was someone who brought energy everywhere he went,” Nichelson said. “He was loud, he was funny, he was driven, and he continues to be missed within our family.”

Rachel Barth and Amanda Meyer, two of Goodrich’s friends, said in a statement they are “overwhelmed with grief, sadness, and a sense of relief that he has been found.”

“We will forever miss our beautiful, red-headed, marathon-running, dessert-obsessed friend,” the statement said.