Remains Found in Beaumont Identified as Missing Jasper County Man

BEAUMONT, Texas — Human remains discovered in a wooded area off Helbig Road have been confirmed as Robert Wayne Bodmer, a Jasper County man who had been missing for several years, according to the Hardin County Sheriff’s Office.

Authorities say the case opened on December 6, 2024, when the Hardin County Sheriff’s Office received a report from an inmate who claimed he had located a human skull while walking in the woods near Beaumont weeks earlier. The inmate stated he came across the skull on October 29, 2024, while traveling on foot back toward Hardin County.

Detectives transported the inmate to Beaumont, where he guided them into a wooded area near the 6200 block of Helbig Road. During the search, investigators from the Hardin County Sheriff’s Office and the Beaumont Police Department located a human skeleton in close proximity to where the skull was found.

The Jefferson County Crime Lab processed the scene. Forensic testing has now identified the remains as 44-year-old Robert Wayne Bodmer. Officials have notified Bodmer’s family.

According to public missing-person records, Bodmer was born May 4, 1981, and was last seen on February 14, 2020, at CHRISTUS St. Elizabeth Hospital on Woodlawn Avenue in Beaumont. He was later listed as missing out of Jasper County. No additional details about his disappearance were included in the law enforcement update.

Authorities have not released information on Bodmer’s cause of death. The investigation remains active. Anyone with information related to this case is urged to contact local law enforcement.