NELSONVILLE, Ohio (WCMH) — The remains of missing Nelsonville man Bryan Kyle Bridgeman were found Wednesday near his residence.
Bridgeman had been missing since June 4, when his grandmother Linda Johnson reported his disappearance to the police.
Family members tell NBC4 that the body belongs to Bridgeman based on clothing and identifying marks. A coroner has yet to make an official determination.
Athens County Prosecutor Keller Blackburn said in a news release Thursday morning that deputies discovered the remains after receiving new information on where his body may have been.
In August, Golden Hearts a Voice 4 the Voiceless — a search and recovery team from Coshocton — joined the search for Bridgeman’s body. The group combed the area searching abandoned houses, wells, fields and woods looking for Bridgeman.
The last person seen with Bridgeman was Paul Joseph Coon, 36. According to court records, Coon was placed under supervision for five years but left Ohio without permission. He was arrested in Alabama on a probation violation and extradited back to Ohio.
Since extradition, Paul J. Coon has been in Fairfield County Jail, where he has been held on no bond since Oct. 18, and he has an active case in the Fairfield County Court of Common Pleas. His next court appearance was set to be on Nov. 22.
Coon’s wife, Lindsay Coon (Woolever), mentioned Bridgeman in court documents when she was arrested. In Lindsay Coon’s indictment on Sept. 16, she was said to have admitted to dependency on fentanyl. The indictment also alleges that she provided a gun to Coon, a convicted felon.
The indictment also said Coon was seen at 6 p.m. June 4 with Bridgeman, the date of his disappearance. Lindsay Coon is being held under a bond of $350,000 at the Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail, and her last court appearance was on Oct. 27.
The Bridgeman case remains under investigation.