GULF SHORES, Ala. - Detectives from the Gulf Shores Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division and investigators from the Baldwin County Coroner’s Office have identified skeletal remains found on the beach last September as 31-year-old Eric Lonnie Pye of Summerville, S. C. 

Pye was originally the subject of a swimmer in distress call in Orange Beach on June 24.  He was not located during a tireless search and rescue operation involving personnel from Orange Beach, Gulf Shores, and the U.S. Coast Guard.

Between Sept. 1 and Sept. 19, two different human bones were located on the beach near the state pier. The bones were submitted to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences for analysis. GSPD Detectives then began to secure DNA samples for comparison.

They worked with authorities in North Carolina to secure a sample from Pye’s mother. The Mobile lab’s Forensic Biology Section recently contacted GSPD detectives and provided them with biological evidence that allowed them to determine the bones belonged to Eric Pye. 

“We would especially like to thank the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences Mobile laboratory for their quick response," Police Chief Edward Delmore said. "Their timely results have allowed the Pye family to have answers that so many never get.”