Remains of Oklahoma Boy Missing Since 1994 Identified

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The state Medical Examiner's Office says remains found 16 years ago are those of a missing Madill boy.

ME spokeswoman Cherokee Ballard said Tuesday Oklahoma Project Search for the Missing helped determine that the remains belong to 11-year-old Thomas Tillery.

The project is an effort by the ME's office, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification and local law enforcement agencies.

Part of a skull, some skin and hair were discovered near Ardmore in December 1994, but officials weren't able to identify them.

Ballard says the ME's office obtained a DNA sample from the boy's mother, which the center used to link a DNA profile from the skull to Thomas.

Ballard says officials weren't able to determine a cause of death.