Family wants answers after human remains identified 3 years later
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - On Thursday, the Burke County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that human remains found in 2019 matched Tyrone Hughes.
It’s been three years since Hughes went missing from Augusta.
Although this is an answer for the family, they still have many questions about what happened to him.
The family says it has been a long and difficult three years for them and are frustrated by how long it has taken to identify him. But they are happy to be getting a sense of closure.
“I thank God for closure, I got that part. Now, I just want justice because he didn’t deserve to be killed. He didn’t deserve that,” said Keisha Williams, cousin of Hughes.
Before Burke County confirmed the remains were him, the family spent years looking for answers and any clue of where he was.
“I searched and I searched, and I never gave up looking for him, so it’s been pretty hard for our family,” said Williams.
BCSO says several factors contributed to it taking this long, including the difficulty of identifying remains in that condition and the pandemic.
“I expected it to take a while, to determine a, at least an identity, then you’ve gotta go into play with the current events that we’re dealing with, you know COVID-19 and things of that nature,” said Randall Norman, captain, Burke County Sheriff’s Office.
They are now working with the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office to bring closure to the family.
“There will be sharing of information. You know, the investigators will discuss different leads that they may have worked before in the past, maybe something that didn’t pan out,” said Norman.
Norman says they are not sure how long it could take for this family to see justice. Getting leads from the community is crucial to helping the investigators crack the case, and the family is pleading for any information.
These answers could be the key to getting justice for Hughes.
Williams said: “It was so long to get answers, just so long.” “Please if you know anything, please come forward, this is all I have other than some memories.”
Any information, report it to the Burke County Sheriff’s Office.
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