Taney County Coroner Kevin Tweedy says he has received confirmation from a forensic lab in Texas that the human remains of a male found murdered in rural Taney County last month are those of Rusty Porter.
This comes on the same day funeral services for Porter's wife, Becky, were held.
Becky and Rusty Porter went missing from their home near Willard last April. After an exhaustive three month search a Taney County deputy, acting on a tip, discovered the couples bodies about two miles from Cedar Creek Road. The area is surrounded by the dense woods of the Mark Twain National Forest and the nearest house is approximately two miles away.
Authorities have not said what specifically what led the investigation to Taney County, but early on in the investigation Arnott said the couple had ties to the Branson area. "We've been searching that area on and off for some time with ATV's and watercraft. Let's just say that there is no way we could have picked that area without some specific information leading us there," Arnott said in July.
Becky Porter was positively identified by dental records and Rusty Porter was identified through medical records, MRI imaging and DNA. Rusty Porter had undergone surgery for a spinal/brain tumor last fall.
Tweedy says the forensic lab is still attempting to determine the cause of death and help investigators "with a timeline." He says he expects the bodies will be released to family members within the next few weeks.
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