GREENWOOD, Ind. (WISH) — Children found human remains in a Greenwood farmland in 1993. For decades, the bones sat unidentified. The case went cold. That is, until a recent DNA genealogy test matched the identity of the man to a living relative.

Now, the coroner identified the human remains as that of Michael Benjamin Davis, of South Carolina. His family lovingly called him “Benny.”

“It’s been heart wrenching to not know, to just not know,” said Laurie Pineda, Benny’s first cousin.

Pineda said she had good memories with Benny as a child, but he struggled with mental health issues as he got older. The last time they saw each other was when they were both 18 years old. Benny’s father tried to check him into an emergency room to be examined, but he ran out. Pineda said she figured he just lost touch.

“All these years later, you sort of learn to live with it,” Pineda said. “But then to get that phone call, that brought it out for all of us. The whole family is talking. ‘What do you remember. Who has pictures left?’”

That phone call was from the Johnson County Coroner’s Office who wanted to get test a close relative.

“Nobody ever said its an unsolvable case, but I was told numerous times that this was going to be a difficult one,” said Chief Deputy Coroner Derek Wilson.

For years, the case has been passed down from one detective to another. Now, with DNA genealogy technology, scientists from the University of Indianapolis and Othram, a forensic DNA sequencing laboratory, were able to match the unidentified remains to a family member. The cost for that test is between $7,000 – $10,000.

Benny’s bones were found 30+ years ago near I-65 near what is now the Otte Golf and Family Fun Center. Police said his remains were scattered in three different locations due to farm land being harvested and replanted. While the case was initially ruled a homicide, investigators are still unsure of the cause of death..

“The circumstances in this discovery makes it highly suspicious leads us to believe more than likely this could be a homicide but I won’t speculate,” said Aaron Hagist, deputy chief at Greenwood Investigations. “Unfortunately, because of where it was found in a field that was harvested and planted and replanted, there’s more than likely potential evidence might have been lost during those years.”

The family lost touch with Benny in the 1980s.

Investigators believe he joined a traveling circus that may have led him to Greenwood. They said Benny may have been in his 20s when he passed. How he died or what happened leading to his death in the early 90s is still unknown. Investigators are hoping to get more information now that Benny is identified.

Now that Benny is reunited with his family, his cousin will take him home to be buried alongside his mother.

This is the second cold case where DNA genealogy help lead to a breakthrough. Earlier this week, authorities have arrested a man they believed killed Carmen Van Huss 31 years ago.