Human remains found by student on grounds of Arkansas high school ID'd as man missing since 1999

Authorities have identified human remains found on the campus of an Arkansas high school as those of a man reported missing 20 years ago.

The Searcy Police Department said investigators confirmed the remains found Tuesday afternoon in a wooded part of Riverview High School's campus are those of Larry Don Madden.

Madden, who was 26 when he was reported missing in 1999, was "working and staying with a friend" in the Searcy area when he disappeared, police said in a statement, noting the investigation is ongoing.

A sophomore at the school discovered the remains while walking home Tuesday afternoon, district Superintendent David Rutledge said previously. The student who made the discovery called another student to the scene and called police around 3:45 p.m., the superintendent said.

Officials said the student discovered the remains about 50 yards south of the school’s administration building, just off of Moore Avenue.

Searcy Police Chief Steve Hernandez said the wooded area is thick and would have made it difficult to see the remains.

“[It] just happened to be that a student was walking through the woods for whatever reason and saw the remains,” he said.