NORTH COAST, Calif. — The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office said it has identified human remains found earlier this month as belonging to a Piercy man whose disappearance had resulted in a search effort involving agencies around the region.

On Tuesday, the agency’s Coroner's Division reported they had identified the deceased body after recent dental comparisons were conducted by a forensic odontologist.

Dental comparisons confirmed the deceased person found during the Dec. 10 search efforts as being Scott William Graves, 63.

Graves’ family had reported him missing on Dec. 7 after last hearing from him on Dec. 4. At that time, he had tried to leave his property in the 73000 block of Island Mountain Road but it was too wet and the roads were unsafe for travel. He told family members he would try again the following day.

Search efforts began on Dec. 7 and continued until the remains were found three days later. Agencies from around the North Coast, including the Lake County Sheriff’s Office’s Search and Rescue team, assisted with the search.

The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Coroner's Division and sheriff's detectives are continuing investigations in an attempt to determine the manner, cause and circumstances of Graves' death.

Anyone who might have information that could assist sheriff's detectives in this investigation are urged to contact the Sheriff's Office Tip-Line by calling 707-234-2100 or the WeTip Anonymous Crime Reporting Hotline by calling 800-782-7463.