The Huntsville Police Department continues to seek identity of skeletal remains found 11 years ago in Huntsville-annexed Limestone County.

The remains were found by a team of surveyors working near the Greenbrier exit on Interstate 565. Other items found at the scene are now stored in evidence bags as investigators seek information.

The remains were found May 6, 2008, in a thickly wooded area off Old Highway 20, according to Huntsville Investigator Chris Hines. In addition to the remains, investigators also recovered binoculars, a small flashlight, a pocket knife, a pair of prescription glasses and a dark-colored fleece jacket.

The skeletal remains were sent to a forensics lab, but analysis did not yield a positive ID.

“The remains were found to be of a white male, the age range of 45-60, as best they could tell, and height of 6 foot,” Hines said.

Investigators believe the person may have disappeared anywhere from 2000 to 2007 because of the condition of the body. Because the person was wearing a fleece jacket, it was likely fall or winter when the victim, who police believe was probably on foot, walked into the woods off I-565.

Hines wouldn’t say how the person died, but he added a gun was found near the remains.

“We pulled all the local missing persons in the area. No one was matching,” Hines said. “We tested against some other missing persons, and we did not get any matches on that.”

Forensics also checked dental records.

“It did appear he went to the dentist’s office on a regular basis due to the number of fillings that he had,” Hines said. “If he was homeless at the time, we didn’t believe he was always homeless.”

Despite the lack of clues, investigators aren’t losing hope they’ll one day learn the man’s identity.

“We’ve worked through that evidence, we’ve obtained DNA, even looked for people with matching dental records that are reported missing,” Hines said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crimestoppers at 256-53-CRIME or the Huntsville Police Department at 256-427-7001.

— Details for this story provided by WAFF-48 in Huntsville.