I've been home from work for about 15 minutes and sat down to go through today's email. One of the messages was from someone who works for Channel 13 Action News in Las Vegas (KTNV-TV) asking me to call the station in regards to my missing step-brother. I went to the station's web page to see if the message was legitimate and discovered that one of today's lead stories is "Bones Found Linked To 39 Year Old Man." I called the station, but the person who sent me email has already left for the day. I next called my step-sister to see if she's heard anything, and learned from her husband that about a week ago Chad's driver's license was found in the desert near some sun-bleached bones. Chad's dental records have been compared with the partial jawbone recovered from the desert and it's now confirmed, the bones belong to my step-brother.

To quote from the article:

Bones, believed to be human remains, were found in the desert on May 20 near Lake Mead Blvd., near Sunrise Mountain.

The Coroner's office now says the bones belong to Chad Robert Lightle, a 39 year old man.

He was originally from Rochester, MI.

Lightle was reported missing in 2001.

The cause of his death has not been determined at this time.

(Source: http://www.ktnv.com/global/story.asp?s=8384344)

Chad was missing for a long time and I thought there was good possibility he was murdered or committed suicide. Nevertheless, learning that he really is gone is a shock. I guess I'd never really given up hope that he was alive and well, and that he would rejoin the family some day.