ALLEGAN COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - Twenty-two years after a Michigan man disappeared while fishing, it was confirmed that his remains were recovered in 2014.In 2014, a jaw bone washed up along the Lake Michigan shore in Allegan County's Ganges Township, and was found by a jogger.
It had three teeth. The Western Michigan University Pathology Department tried to identify the remains but were unsuccessful, and they were classified as unidentified.
However, Michigan State Police approached nonprofit the DNA Doe Project about the case years later, and an investigation started.The remains were sent to the University of North Texas, where genealogists matched DNA to relatives of Ronald Wayne Jager.
Jager was last seen fishing in Muskegon County in 2000 after launching his boat in Whitehall. His vehicle and trailer were near the boat launch, and his boat was found along the shoreline of Lake Michigan in Wisconsin days after he disappeared.Ronald Jager (Photo: MSP) That match didn't include immediate family members, so police reached out to Jager's family and were able to get a DNA sample from one of his adult children.DNA testing was finalized by the University of North Texas this month.