The family of 37-year-old Jamie Robertson says it has some closure as investigators identified his remains found in a wooded area in Upton, Massachusetts.
"This is what we wanted for a long time, to get Jamie home," said Robertson's father, David. "We're still digesting all this. It's hard. We don't know exactly what happened."
A hunter found Robertson's remains Saturday roughly an hour from where he was last seen two years ago at his parents' Avon home, according to Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early.
"There were bones and other clothing that were found in the area off of Mendon Street in Upton," Early said. "There was no identification with the body, the remains were sent to the medical examiner's office."
Dental records confirmed Tuesday what Robertson's relatives had both hoped for and feared - that the remains were their son.
Investigators say Robertson was taken on New Year's Day 2014 by two men posing as police officers under the guise that he needed to do probation drug testing.
Four people, including former Dedham police officer Michael Schoener, were charged in August 2014 in connection with Robertson's abduction, but the investigation stalled somewhat until now.
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"Really my heart goes out to the family, you've got to remember, Mr. Robertson was a son, a brother and he's a father to a couple children, so it's bittersweet," said Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey.
A hunter found the remains in the woods of Mendon Street on Dec. 26. The state police delivered the news to the Robertsons at their home.
This comes just a few weeks after investigators had passed out fliers to hunters in the Blue Hill Reservation area asking them to keep an eye out for Robertson's remains.
"Honestly, it's just one of those things where hunters go where traditional walkers and joggers don't go, that we occasionally get very lucky and I think that's one of the cases here, just very fortunate that the hunter was paying attention," Morrissey said.
