Body Found In Rural Taney Confirmed As Rusty Porter:

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.

~BREAKING~"We're Sure It's Her"; Porter's Bodies To Be Sent Out Of State For Further Testing:

Taney County Coroner Kevin Tweedy says specialized and reconstructive testing will be performed on two bodies found last week in rural part of the county.

Those bodies are believed to belong to Becky and Rusty Porter who went missing from their Willard home in
April. 
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"We're sure the female is her (Becky).....the dental's match up, but the sheriff (Greene County) asked that the bodies be sent to a lab in Texas for anthropological study."
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Becky and Rusty Porter

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Greene County Sheriff Jim Arnott told The Sentinel earlier this week that any statements regarding the bodies or the autopsies would be made by Tweedy since the bodies were found in Taney County.  Tweedy said today that he will have to check with Arnott to see what he can release.

"We're not going to release a cause of death at this time," said Tweedy.  However, a source close to the investigation says the couple were shot to death
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Tweedy says family members have been understanding,  "They agree that advanced forensic testing should be done."
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Excessive rain last spring and the oppressive heat this summer have contributed to the degradation of the bodies, according to Tweedy.