Vermont State Police announced Tuesday that a human skull found in Cavendish four years ago belongs to Bryan Gomez, who was reported missing in 2010. Investigators have not been able to determine the cause or manner of the 48-year-old man’s death.
Gomez’s skull was found by a hunter in the woods in Cavendish in November 2020.
DNA from the skull was compared to the genetic profile of Gomez's siblings, and there was "strong support for relatedness," state police said in a press release on Tuesday.
Gomez, who lived in Cavendish, was reported missing July 6, 2010, after his neighbor reported not seeing him for a few weeks. After the first report, Gomez’s case worker called for a welfare check because they hadn’t heard from him in about a month.
According to state police, Gomez had “some mental health limitations,” and was known to hitchhike since he didn’t have a car.
The identification of Gomez’s skull is the second time in recent weeks that Vermont State Police have announced a development in a cold case. Earlier this month, the agency closed the 1982 case of an infant found dead in Northfield.
There are currently more than 80 unsolved homicides and missing persons cases in Vermont.
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