Mikolai Celesz

By Jillian Pikora From Daily Voice

A man born in 1900 has been identified as the person whose skeletal remains were discovered in a drained swamp in Orange County more than three decades ago, New York State Police announced on Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025.

The remains recovered in 1991 off Woods Road in the Town of Greenville were confirmed to be those of Mikolai Celesz, who was 76 when a family member reported him missing on Friday, Oct. 1, 1976, according to state police.

Troopers from SP Middletown were called to the swamp on Saturday, Sept. 14, 1991, after human bones were found when the area was drained. A skull and several additional skeletal pieces were located within a seven-foot radius, with some buried under about a foot of earth, investigators said.

Personal belongings were recovered with the remains, but years of underwater exposure left them too deteriorated to help identify the victim. Coins and manufactured items suggested the man likely disappeared in the mid-1970s.

For decades, Troop F’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation pursued leads through interviews, regional missing-person checks, media releases, DNA submissions, and the use of CODIS and NAMUS, but no identification was made.

In 2024, investigators partnered with Homeland Security Investigations to obtain a Familial DNA sample for forensic genetic genealogy. The analysis showed Eastern European roots but did not produce a name match, troopers said.

That same year, personal property from the scene was analyzed by the FBI’s Questioned Documents Unit in Quantico, Virginia. The state-of-the-art examination generated a critical lead suggesting the victim may have lived in Port Jervis.

Troop F investigators followed the clue and conducted targeted interviews. During that work, Port Jervis Police located a hard-copy blotter entry from Oct. 1, 1976, reporting Mikolai Celesz missing.

With support from the New York State Police Cold Case Unit, the New York State Intelligence Center, and the FBI’s Organized Crime Unit, investigators conducted extensive historical research into Celesz’s life — which began in 1900 — and his disappearance.

In 2025, investigators traveled to Florida to interview surviving relatives. DNA obtained from family members was analyzed by the New York State Police Forensic Investigation Center, resulting in a conclusive match to the remains found in Greenville in 1991.

State police thanked the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Port Jervis Police Department, saying the coordinated investigation brought long-awaited closure to Celesz’s family nearly 49 years after he vanished.

Anyone with information about the disappearance of Mikolai Celesz is asked to contact Troop F Communications at (845) 344-5300 and reference case number 3021756.