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ASHTABULA COUNTY, Ohio (WJW) — The Ohio Attorney General’s Office said a Northeast Ohio man who has been missing since 1993 has now been identified as the victim of an unsolved homicide in Florida.

According to a press release, Wayne Calvin Griffith, 43, was last seen in Ashtabula in October of 1993.

Authorities believed he may have gone to Florida. Now, decades later, the attorney general’s office said authorities have matched his DNA to previously unidentified remains that were found on October 25, 1993 in Palm Beach, Florida.

“This outcome brings closure to a family, long separated from their loved one,” Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said in the release. “Continuing work on cold cases, and all cases for that matter, is crucial. Just because a number of years have gone by doesn’t mean it ever ends,” added Ashtabula County Sheriff William Johnson.

The release stated the Bureau of Criminal Investigation received a tip about the missing man in February 2019 and a missing persons case was opened with the Ashtabula County Sheriff’s Office.

“Through BCI’s Project LINK (Linking Individuals Not Known), DNA was collected from Griffith’s family and uploaded into the national Combined DNA Index System (CODIS). The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office recently contacted the Center for Human Identification at the University of North Texas with a request to review the case tied to the unidentified remains. When Griffith’s DNA profile was uploaded into CODIS, it matched the profile submitted by BCI. The identity has been confirmed through additional DNA testing and information provided by Griffith’s family,” the release stated.

Anyone who may have information on the homicide, is asked to please contact Detective John Cogburn of the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office by calling 561-688-4063 or emailing CogburnJ@pbso.org.

**More missing persons cases, here**