Skeletal remains found Sunday in a wooded area of Keystone Heights off County Road 352 are those of a missing Keystone Heights teenager, according to the Clay County Sheriff's Office.
Investigators said that while an exact identification will be made by the Medical Examiner in Jacksonville using dental records and/or DNA analysis, evidence collected at the scene leads detectives to believe the remains are those of Zachary Cooper, who was 15 years old when he went missing.
The cause of death is unknown.
Cooper was reported missing by his father in April 2009.
Cooper was familiar with the County Road 352 area of Keystone, investigators said.
On Sunday afternoon, the new owners of a property located in the 6300 block of County Road 352 spotted the skeletal remains while out walking the wooded area of their new property, deputies said. They contacted law enforcement, who responded to the site and recovered the remains and related evidence.
The Sheriff's Office said that because the cause of death is unknown until the medical examiner renders an opinion, investigators will not speculate about the possibility of foul play being involved versus suicide, accidental death, etc.
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