'Let's go home, brother': Family finally get closure after 30 years, as DNA tests reveal remains found on riverbank DO belong to missing teen who vanished in 1986
- Case of missing teenager last seen in May 1985 is solved by new testing
- Police said remains found on a Virginia river belong to Michael Perdue
- Perdue was reported missing after fleeing a gas station on May 4, 1985
- Investigators were able to confirm remains were Perdue's with Y-STR tests
- Y-STR testing examines coding genes in the male-specific Y-chromosome
Police have used fresh DNA evidence to close a case of missing 17-year-old Michael Perdue more than 30 years after he disappeared
Police have used fresh DNA evidence to close a case of a missing 17-year-old boy more than 30 years after he disappeared.
Two fishermen stumbled across human remains along the Jackson River in Virginia on March 2, 1986, and on Wednesday they were finally able to say the bones belonged to teenager Michael Perdue.
Perdue was last seen on May 4, 1985, with officers believing he drowned after fleeing a nearby gas station, the Roanoke Times reports.
They also believe he may have firebombed the station with a friend.
Alleghany County Sheriff Kevin Hall announced the news during a press conference on Wednesday.
Perdue's siblings, Wally Perdue and Sandra Miller, attended the conference.
'A brother's love never dies,' Wally Perdue, who was holding a cardboard box that contained the ashes of his brother, told reporters on Wednesday.
'I feel that his spirit is still walking this earth. And now that we’re laying him to rest, he can go home with the rest of his family.
'Thank y'all. Let's go home, Michael.'
Investigators thought the remains were Perdue's, but weren't sure until they tracked down Wally Perdue in Michigan for a DNA test.
'For 30 years, everybody thought it was Michael,' Sheriff Hall said, according to the newspaper.
Alleghany County Sheriff Kevin Hall (pictured) announced the news during a press conference on Wednesday
'A brother's love never dies,' Wally Perdue (middle), who was holding a cardboard box that contained the ashes of his brother, told reporters on Wednesday
'We're a small area, and he was the only missing person. Most people at the time had a pretty good guess.'
The two brothers had been living with their grandmother in Covington at the time. Michael Perdue will be buried in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Police were able to make the link using Y-STR testing - which examines coding genes in the male-specific Y-chromosome.
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