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NATCHEZ — Adams County Coroner James Lee said he has received positive identification of human remains found near a truck near 400 Tate Road in Adams County last weekend.

The confirmation that the human remains were that of Welton “Wick” Pierce of Zacahary, Louisiana, came from a pacemaker found at the site that was registered with Medtronic Registration, Lee said.

“I received a report from Medtronic Registration identifying the skeletal remains of the man from (last) weekend,” Lee said. “He has been identified as 81-year-old Welton Pierce from Zachary, Louisiana.”

Adams County Sheriff’s Office deputies worked the scene last weekend after a truck registered to Pierce was found abandoned in Adams County on Tate Road near the Natchez State Park.

Search and rescue dogs later found the human remains not far from the abandoned truck, and Lee had said the pacemaker, and another prosthetic at the scene, matched information about Pierce who had been reported missing in October 2019.

“When I spoke with his son Rocky, he was elated but very sad,” Lee said after receiving the confirmation on Thursday. “This family has been hit hard with death but are very loving people. My heart and prayers go out to them. I hope they can have some kind of closure now. Again, I have to thank all of those involved in the recovery for a job well-done.”

Zachary Police Chief David McDavid said Pierce was a business owner who ran an automotive wrecker service in Zachary and that the police department had been searching for Pierce since he went missing.

There is no evidence to suggest foul play in Pierce’s disappearance, McDavid said, adding the Pierce family also lost their mother Mildred Pierce two months after Welton’s disappearance when she crashed into a pond in Zachary.