Greenville, N.Y. – In September 1991, troopers were called to a drained swamp in Orange County for a grisly discovery: a skull and other skeletal remains, some buried about a foot underground.

On Wednesday, the State Police announced they have identified the remains as Mikolai Celesz, of Port Jervis, who was 76 when a relative reported him missing on Oct. 1, 1976.

DNA, personal belongings and an old police blotter entry helped troopers identify the remains decades later.

Coins found near the remains pointed to a mid-1970s timeframe, but the evidence did not reveal the person’s identity, troopers said.

For decades, investigators pursued leads through interviews, public appeals and DNA testing.

A breakthrough came when the FBI’s Questioned Documents Unit examined personal property from

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