Shelby County Sheriff’s Detectives believe the skeletal remains found in a wooded area in Lakeland this past weekend are that of James H. Tate, a truck driver from Mississippi who disappeared in Shelby County two years ago.

A citizen called the Sheriff’s Office last Friday night and said he had found a skull while walking in a wooded area along Canada Road just north of Highway 70. Deputies and volunteers with the Sheriff’s Office Emergency Services Squad searched the woods with specially trained dogs this past weekend and found approximately 20 other bones that were part of the skeleton.

The Shelby County Medical Examiner told Sheriff’s Detectives late this evening the bones are of a black man, and had apparently been in the woods for more than a year.

Based on evidence found in clothes near the skeleton, Deputies believe the remains are that of James H. Tate, 37, of Tyler Town, Mississippi, who disappeared on December 17, 2004. The trailer Tate was hauling for M and K Logistics was found by Bartlett Police along Brunswick Road near Highway 64. Then a day later, the truck cab was found on a vacant lot along Berryhill near Raspberry near Macon Road.

Tate’s physical description fits the skeletal remains. Although teeth were found still in the skull, no dental records are available for comparison.

The Shelby County Medical Examiner will send DNA extracted from Tate’s bones to a lab in Texas for examination. Only then will a positive identification be made. However, based on the items found at the scene, investigators say they believe the remains found are that of Tate.

Sheriff’s investigators still don’t know how Tate died. They are asking that anyone with information about the case contact Crime Stoppers at (901) 528-CASH (2274) or the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office at (901) 379-7625.