LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) - Leavenworth police say remains found last year have been identified as a man who has been missing since 2009.

Police Chief Pat Kitchens said DNA evidence proved the skeleton was the remains of William Creech.

Leavenworth parks employees found the remains Dec. 13 at the bottom of an embankment north of the Riverfront Community Center. Kitchens said Creech likely died after falling from the top of the tall embankment.

The Leavenworth Times reports Creech was reported missing Sept. 27, 2009. He was last seen at his home in Leavenworth, which is near where the remains were found.

The remains were sent to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System in Texas for the DNA testing.