MISSING MAN IDENTIFIED BY REMAINS

BENTON, Mo. -- Skeletal remains discovered in a concrete grain silo last month belong to a 25-year-old Sikeston man who was possibly a homicide victim, the Scott County sheriff said Thursday.

Undraus D. Nabors' remains were identified this week by a forensic anthropologist from the St. Louis County Medical Examiner's office, Sheriff Bill Ferrell said.

Nabors had disappeared Dec. 27, 1999, after leaving his mother's house.

Until Nabors' remains were found Dec. 3, investigators said they had no substantial leads in the case. The body was discovered by a hunter approximately two miles west of Sikeston.

Previous X-rays of Nabors were used by a forensic anthropologist to determine the identity of the remains.

The cause of death is still uncertain, Ferrell said, but for now, the case is considered a homicide.

Nabors, who lived with his mother at 331 Sunset St., was last seen by his mother and sister at his home in Sikeston.

Nabors was supposed to pick up his girlfriend but he never arrived, Sikeston police had reported.

His car was found the next day at a motel in Sikeston.

The St. Louis Medical Examiner's office routinely handles more difficult cases for counties in the region. Dental records, X-rays and DNA tests can determine gender, race, age and the number of years since death when identities are less certain, said Mary Case, medical examiner.