Maine State Police said they believe a body recovered from a shallow grave in Jefferson last week is a man last seen alive 12 years ago.
Detectives believe the skeletal remains are those of Charles "Chuck" Woodburn, who was 51 when he disappeared back in 2002. The body was found in the front yard of Woodburn's former home at 219 Neck Road in Jefferson. Detectives searched the site and with the help of state police body dogs and the Maine Warden Service pinpointed the gravesite near a rock wall. A backhoe was then used to excavate the site, and the body was found.
The Maine State Medical Examiner's Office has determined the death to be a homicide, and said more work will be done to establish a positive identification.
At the time of his disappearance, Woodburn was married and living at the house with his wife, Diane Darling. She later remarried, and died in 2010. She never reported Woodburn missing, but other family members did following her death.
The cause of Woodburn's death is not being released at this time, and detectives are now interviewing his family and friends in an attempt to retrace his whereabouts before he disappeared.
