Family members had appealed for help finding Balensiefen, saying he had been missing since July 16 and was last seen at Americase in Waxahachie. They said the lack of contact was unusual and hoped to bring him home.

On July 27, Ellis County sheriff’s deputies responded to a report of skeletal remains near Bell Branch Road and FM 876 in Italy. Investigators were coordinating with Waxahachie police and the family of a missing man, but had not confirmed a connection between the cases.

The Dallas Medical Examiner’s Office has since identified the remains as Balensiefen’s through DNA comparisons with family members. Investigators found no evidence that his death involved homicide or any other criminal act, according to the Ellis County Sheriff’s Office.