Police in Alabama have identified human remains discovered in a coal bin as a man who vanished 38 years ago and was the subject of a long-lingering cold case.
DNA testing on the remains — which were first found in late 2004 — finally returned a hit for 21-year-old Bryant Keith Bates.
Us Weekly confirmed Bates was last seen alive on November 15, 1988, after he had left his family’s home in North East Lake for a funeral.
When he failed to return from his friend’s funeral, Bates’ relatives grew suspicious and reported him missing to the Birmingham Police Department.
Early on in the missing persons probe, his family expressed grave concerns the young man was killed intentionally.
Back on November 22, 2004, police were contacted by an exterminator, who told them he had discovered human skeletal remains buried inside a coal bin while working in the crawl space of a South East Lake rental property.
The skeletal remains were brought to the Jefferson County Coroner/Medical Examiner’s Office for examination, and it was determined the victim was male and likely of African descent. They estimated his age to be between 17- and 30-years-old and said that he stood 5-foot-10.
Officials say that Bates was last seen wearing a pair of plaid pants with a white shirt that had blue trim — the same clothing that was found along with the skeletal remains.
A Coca-Cola brand watch and a chain necklace were also recovered, and both belonged to Bates.
An autopsy determined that Bates was shot in the head. His manner of death was deemed a homicide, and now, investigators are trying to bring his killer to justice.
Police do not have an idea at the moment how long ago Bates was killed. They also have failed to discuss any possible suspects they may have in mind.
Information about the unidentified remains was entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System in 2015, but no match was found.
Three years later, a bone sample was submitted to the University of Texas Center for Human Identification (UNTCHI) for analysis, and the results confirmed the remains were those of a man. A profile was entered into the Combined DNA Index System, however, there still was no match.
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Then, in March 2025, officials took a bone sample and submitted it to Othram, Inc., for further analysis. The DNA profile developed from that specific analysis confirmed that the remains were of African descent and aided genealogists in developing new leads about who the man might be.
Officials claim those fresh leads were sent to the Jefferson County Coroner/Medical Examiner’s Office and allowed them to locate immediate family members of the deceased.
In Feb. 2026, officials say UNTCHI performed DNA testing of Bates and confirmed that the missing remains that were found were those of Bates.
The Jefferson County Coroner’s Office says the identification was made possible by utilizing forensic genetic genealogy analysis (FGG) and is the second positive ID using the process. Officials say they currently have 26 cases being analyzed by the FGG process.
