MARIANNA, Ark. - Human remains found nearly 50 years ago near Marianna, Ark., have been identified, the Arkansas State Police (ASP) announced Friday.

ASP said the remains belonged to Charles Howard Wallace.

His remains were found in January 1977 in a farm field near U.S. Highway 79 in Lee County, a few miles west of Marianna, ASP said. It is believe he was around 21 years old at the time.

ASP said Wallace last made contact with his family three years earlier. "At the time, Wallace was in his late teens and had been seeking treatment at a halfway house in downtown Memphis," the agency said.

The breakthrough in Wallace's case came this past summer when DNA testing matched his remains to relatives in Tennessee. ASP said the circumstances surrounding his death remained under investigation.

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