Metro

The Blair County Coroner has identified skeletal re­mains found in Antis Township in December 2024 as that of Craig Joseph Wojcik, 47, who went missing in July 2024.

A hunter found the remains along Rose Yard Road on Dec. 10, 2024. Since that time, the coroner’s office and state police have worked to identify the remains, according to a news release from Coroner Ray Benton.

Benton said the investigation found that Wojcik was last seen after being dropped off in Altoona by a friend on July 5, 2024. He was reported missing to Altoona police after he had not been in contact with those friends.

An examination of the remains, matching medical reports and a review of the clothing from the scene, compared to the clothes Wojcik was reportedly last wearing, along with inactivity of his financial account, and lack of contact with family members and friends, led the investigation to Wojcik, Benton said.

DNA testing was conducted, but to this date the lab has not been successful in crossmatching samples obtained, the news release stated.

Benton said that based on the location of the remains and the presentation, foul play is not suspected. However, because of the severity of the decomposition, he was unable to determine an accurate cause and manner of death.

The remains were found about 1.5 miles north of the North Eighth Street Bridge in Juniata and a little distance east of the mainline tracks, which parallel the unpaved road.