Human bones found in Easton brook are from missing man, DA says

The human bones, including a skull, found in a brook in Easton, Massachusetts, this month have been identified as belonging to a man last seen in September 2021, authorities said Tuesday.

Teeth helped identify the bones as belonging to Matthew Yeomans, an Easton man whose grandfather reported him missing Sept. 21, 2021, according to the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office.

The bones were discovered May 1 in a brook near Yeomans’ Easton home, officials said. Investigators have yet to identify the cause or manner of Yeomans death.

Investigators said they found additional bones Thursday after starting a search when residents reported the discovery a day before.

However, prosecutors said there was not believed to be a threat to the public amid the ongoing investigation.

When police were investigating the discovery of the remains in early May, officers were seen in the yard of a house on Summer Street near Black Brook Road.

Authorities said at the time they were first called in when residents found what appeared to be a human skull in a stream by their house, and investigators later discovered what appeared to be human bones.

Yeomans, who would be 27 if he were still alive, was last seen on Sept. 19, 2021, two days before his grandfather reported him missing. He had a medical condition as well as mental health issues, prosecutors said Tuesday.

His wallet, ID cards and a cellphone were found in the residence when he was reported missing, but a search of the area didn’t turn up any results, according to prosecutors.