CLERMONT — Lake County sheriff’s officials hope DNA testing and dental records can help them verify if the human remains founds in the yard of a missing Clermont man is him.
A cadaver dog picked up the scent of human remains at the home of 35-year-old Michael Shaver on Friday in his back yard at 9850 Sandy Pines Road in Clermont, Lt. John Herrell, said Friday afternoon.
Shaver, who has been missing since 2015, shared with home with his wife and two children.
Armed with a search warrant, deputies began searching the property Friday, the dog “alerted” to something in the back yard — deputies then began digging there, Herrell said.
Officials eventually uneartherd clothing as well as a human arm bone beneath a concrete slab near a fire pit.
An autopsy also will be conducted to determine the cause of death.
According to media reports, one of Shaver’s friends called the sheriff’s office to ask for a well-being check, after he nor any of Shaver’s family had heard from the missing man since 2015.
Deputies met with his wife, Laurie Shaver, who reportedly said she hasn’t seen her husband since 2015. She initially allowed deputies to look in the home. But after an interview moved outside, she stopped cooperating and asked for an attorney.