Human remains discovered by a family’s dog in Alabama on four separate occasions have been identified as belonging to a 25-year-old man who went missing early last year.
In an email to the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office earlier this month, officials confirmed the deceased was Curtis Taylor Jr., 25, of Center Point, Ala.
“All the skeletal remains recovered in this case have been found to originate from the same source (person) and have been positively identified by dental and DNA comparison,” the coroner said.
The coroner’s office stated that Taylor — who was visually impaired — was last seen alive by family members on Feb. 6, 2024, at a residence in the 1300 block of 5th Place NW in Center Point. Relatives reported him missing to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office two weeks later.
“Mr. Taylor’s family residence is also the same property where, on 8/8/2025, a larger collection of skeletal remains was discovered within a small patch of woods at the rear of the property,” the coroner’s office said.
Authorities initially treated the case as a homicide after the first remains — a skull — were discovered in 2024 and examined for evidence of a gunshot wound. Police said the investigation remains ongoing, but the case has not been classified as a homicide at this time.
When reached for further comment, a spokesperson for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said there were no updates to share.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2):format(webp)/dog-finds-human-remains-081325-75993b3721d04f159c1247a2602437ee.jpg)
A string of discoveries over the past year
The case began on Aug. 20, 2024, when Paulina Mejía’s husband — who has since been deported, according to NBC affiliate WVTM — saw the family’s two dogs playing with what appeared to be a skull near the roadway by their home, according to AL.com.
“My husband was like, ‘This does not look right,’ ” Mejía told the outlet.
“He called the police,” she added, saying authorities did not immediately believe it was human until detectives arrived.
Testing of the skull produced a full DNA profile, but it did not match any known person in the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System (CODIS).
In December 2024, one of the dogs returned with a human tibia. Forensic testing confirmed it belonged to the same person as the skull, according to AL.com, WVTM-13 and WBRC.
On April 10 of this year, the dog was found with another bone — a femur — and a search of the property uncovered a human mandible, or jawbone, also linked to the same individual.
On Aug. 9, deputies responded again after the dog brought home what appeared to be part of a human skeleton. Investigators then searched a nearby wooded area and found additional remains, according to WVTM.
Authorities said the residence where Taylor lived is located across the street from the property where the skull was found on Aug. 20, 2024.
Mejía told WTVM that after the most recent discovery, the dog involved was later killed by a car.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(469x0:471x2):format(webp)/Alabama-skeletal-remains-found-now-ID-as-Curtis-Taylor-120425-2-886389182a2d46dfaa27cb76e5e3a259.jpg)
Family searched for answers after he vanished
In an interview with AL.com published in March 2024, Taylor’s mother, Kathy Gregory, said her son had planned to spend time with his father before he disappeared. She reported him missing after learning he was not at his dad’s home and after going two weeks without hearing from him.
She also said his phone was turned off and went straight to voicemail.
Taylor had glaucoma and attended the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind, according to ABC affiliate WBMA. One of his teachers remembered him as someone widely cared for.
“He wouldn’t ever hang out with anybody that was gonna hurt somebody, he wouldn’t hurt anybody and that’s what has made this so hard because who would have wanted to hurt Curtis?” said Tabitha Royal.
