Bucks County authorities have recently made a major discovery in one of the area’s most notorious cold cases, dating back to the late-1980s. Dino Flammia wrote about the cold case for WPG Talk Radio.

In 1986, local authorities found a human skull on the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware River in Morrisville. Now, almost four decades later, the victim has been identified as Richard Thomas Alt, a man from Trenton, NJ who was last seen by his family on Christmas Eve of 1984.

The case had been conceded closed for a long time. A lack of evidence and forensic analysis made it nearly impossible to identify the victim’s skull. The body of Alt’s girlfriend was also found o the river’s shore in 1985; both are considered victims of a homicide.

Authorities in Bucks County and New Jersey are still looking into the exact cause of death.

“I can’t even imagine wondering and worrying about a lost family member for even a day, let alone for 37 years. That wait is now over for Mr. Alt’s family,” District Attorney Matt Weintraub said.

“I’m just glad that we could give them some peace of mind with this identification, and the eventual return of his remains to his family.”

Read more about Alt and his investigation at WPG Talk Radio.