Pike County sheriff’s deputies say the skeletal remains that were found Nov. 23 in a wooded area have been identified as those of Ruby Lee Wells, who had been missing for more than a year.

Chief Deputy Steve Rushing said Saturday that a report from Scales Biological Laboratory in Brandon indicated that DNA extracted from the bones it received from the sheriff’s department was a 99.62 percent match when compared with DNA from a relative of Wells.

Rushing said the remains have been sent to the Mississippi State Crime Lab in Jackson for further analysis by a pathologist. An initial examination of the bones did not indicate any foul play.

The 72-year-old Wells, an Alzheimer’s patient, disappeared July 22, 2007, from her home about three blocks from where her remains were found.