TOCCOA, Ga. — Human remains discovered in a wooded area off Alban Court in November have been positively identified as a 27-year-old man who had previously been reported missing, according to the Stephens County Coroner’s Office.
Stephens County Coroner Kyle Johnson said the Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab confirmed the remains are those of Christgene Staten, 27, of Dayton, OH.
The remains were found Nov. 26, 2025, by a hunter in a wooded area behind a neighborhood off Alban Court in Toccoa. As previously reported by Now Georgia, authorities said at the time that the body was discovered inside a tent and appeared to have been there for an extended period.
The coroner’s office took possession of the remains and transported them to the GBI Medical Examiner’s Office in Atlanta for forensic examination and positive identification. Because of the condition of the remains, authorities were initially unable to determine the person’s identity.
Staten had been reported missing in May 2025. Johnson said the identification followed several months of work by the Medical Examiner’s Office and the coroner’s office.
“After a several months long team effort by the Medical Examiner’s Office and the Coroner’s Office we are thankful to be able to give Mr. Staten’s family the closure they deserve,” Johnson said in the release.
No additional details were provided regarding the cause or manner of death.
