Skeletal remains discovered in Oregon last year have been identified as belonging to a man who was reported missing nearly a decade ago, authorities said.
The Union County Sheriff’s Office announced on Tuesday, Dec. 30, that the remains were those of Christopher Flammang, who was reported missing in 2016. Officials shared the update in a statement posted to the department’s Facebook page.
The remains were found in October 2024 by a landowner on his property outside La Grande, Oregon. After making the discovery, the landowner alerted authorities. According to the sheriff’s office, the remains were weathered and unidentifiable at the time they were located.
Investigators collected the remains and sent them to the Oregon State Police Medical Examiner’s Office for further analysis. Initial examinations indicated the remains belonged to an adult male of unknown ethnicity, estimated to be between 25 and 45 years old, according to a press release issued in February 2025.
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Officials had cautioned early on that identifying the remains would be a slow process and could take an extended amount of time.
In December, following additional forensic work that included a dental extraction, the Oregon State Police Forensic Anthropologist’s Office was able to positively identify the remains as Flammang through dental records. Authorities said Flammang was born in 1986.
Flammang had been reported missing in 2016 and was listed as transient on the missing person report. He was last seen in Pendleton, Oregon.
The cause of death has not been determined. The sheriff’s office confirmed that Flammang’s family has been notified of the identification. The investigation into his death remains open and ongoing.
