After nine long years, the search for Jacob Lyon has concluded. Authorities announced on Monday that skeletal remains discovered in Florida’s Panhandle in 2022 have been positively identified as those of the missing 19-year-old.

The Walton County Sheriff’s Office released a statement on Tuesday confirming that DNA testing matched the remains found in Miramar Beach in October 2022 to Lyon, who vanished when he was just 19 after being reported missing by his mother in February 2016.

“This is not the outcome our community was hoping for,” the sheriff’s office expressed in their statement. “Yet, for his family, we wish for solace in knowing that Jacob has finally been found.”

The breakthrough came when a man clearing land in the wooded area of Miramar Beach stumbled upon skeletal fragments on October 20, 2022. Following this discovery, deputies and the District 1 Medical Examiner arrived at the scene to start the identification process.

Jacob Lyon, a resident of Niceville, Florida, was reported missing by his mother in 2016, when he was 19 years old. The case was handled by the Walton County Sheriff’s Office and the Niceville Police Department.

From 2022 through 2024, the medical examiner worked to determine the victim’s identity but ultimately requested assistance from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) due to the condition of the remains. Authorities said DNA testing was complicated by years of environmental exposure and degradation.

Investigators said that while the remains have been confirmed to be Lyon’s, the investigation into how the 19-year-old died will continue. (Walton County Sheriff’s Office; Niceville Police Department)

FDLE confirmed the remains were a positive match for Lyon earlier this month, the sheriff’s office said.

Jacob’s disappearance triggered years of investigation by the Niceville Police Department, which pursued leads and tips but never located him. Authorities did not say where Lyon was last seen or how he may have ended up in Walton County.

Authorities said DNA testing of the skeletal remains was complicated by years of environmental exposure and degradation. (Walton County Sheriff’s Office; Niceville Police Department)

Investigators said the case remains active.

“The work does not end here,” the sheriff’s office said, adding that deputies will continue working with Niceville police to determine how Lyon died.