The body of a man discovered in Jacksonville, Florida, has been confirmed as that of a missing Northern Irish man.
John McNamee’s family confirmed the tragic news to Belfast Live on Wednesday after human remains were found near Jacksonville Airport - close to where he was last seen in May of this year.
The last trace of McNamee on May 25, 2022, was at a Love’s Travel Stop on Pecan Park Road, Jacksonville.
READ MORE: Body found in wooded area in Florida during search for missing Irish man John McNamee
According to local reports, his truck - a grey Ford F-150 - was later found abandoned in a grassy area behind the Quality Inn Airport hotel on Airport Road at 11:00 am the next morning.
The family of the 47-year-old from Pomeroy in Co Tyrone made the trip to the US so they could launch a search for their family member and have since said they’re devastated by the outcome.
John's uncle, whose name is also John, and sister Caroline said the family was 'truly grateful' to those who helped to locate him.
According to US police, during the ‘private search,’ pieces of clothing and what appeared to be human remains were found.
Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office also confirmed that investigators were only able to locate partial remains - however, the cause of death has yet to be determined.
Speaking about the tragic loss, John’s family said: "We are truly grateful to those who all helped in finding John and enabling us to bring him home.
"We will never have enough words to describe how grateful we are. As a family, we are truly devastated by the passing of our beloved John and we ask for privacy and space at this time to allow us to grieve.
"John was a hard-working man for his two kids and his family they are going to miss him so much. This is a major loss to our family that was very close to him.
"Our hearts go out to all the families that are searching for missing people, and many of those that joined the search for John were people like that.
"The private search groups that helped us were volunteers that came from several areas and we are just so grateful to have had their support at this time.
"Thank you to our local MP Michelle Gildernew and MLA Linda Dillon for their assistance, as well as the Irish embassy.
"Thank you to Jacksonville Sheriff's office for all their help and assistance during these difficult weeks and to everyone who assisted us by sharing information, posting flyers, and helped in any way."
John's death is still being treated as an "undetermined death" by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, and no further information has been released on what they believe happened.
Investigations are ongoing and anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the Jacksonville Sherriff’s Office by calling 904-630-0500 or emailing JSOCrimeTips@jaxsheriff.org.
If you would like to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS (8477).
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