Dental records have confirmed that the human remains found inside Joshua Tree National Park just before Christmas are those of Paul Miller, a Canadian who went missing in July 2018.

MISSING 411 — Dental records have confirmed that the human remains found inside Joshua Tree National Park just before Christmas are those of Paul Miller, a Canadian who went missing in July 2018.

Miller’s sister, Dawne Robinson, told The Desert Sun, which is part of the USA TODAY Network, the family received confirmation from the San Bernardino County Coroner’s Office on Tuesday morning.

Paul Miller, 51, went missing on July 13, 2018, when vacationing with his wife, Stephanie Miller, and told her he was going out for one more hike at the park – on the popular Fortynine Palms Oasis trail – before they begin their journey back to Guelph, Ontario.

On Dec. 21, Joshua Tree National Park authorities reported that, on Dec. 19, human remains had been found near the trail.

The discovery came through photographs from a drone flyover of the area in November, officials said.

On Dec. 20, park law enforcement rangers hiked to the area where they found skeletal remains, determined to be human, and personal belongings.

His wife and son, Stephanie and Dryden Miller, along with some close friends plan to be in Twentynine Palms next week. They will hike the trail and be escorted by officials to where his remains were found.

“It has been a tough journey. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting. Then, when you hear (he’s been found) it doesn’t make it any easier,” Stephanie Miller, said Tuesday in a phone interview.

She was expecting to talk to an official from the coroner’s office Tuesday evening who could provide more details but said it’s possible they will never fully know what happened to her husband.

Speculation is that whatever happened that caused his death happened quickly, she said – possibly a heart attack or heat stroke.

“He was found in a shaded area and still had water and food,” she said.

It appeared he had made the hike to Fortynine Palms Oasis and was coming back out the wrong way, Stephanie Miller said.

Early in the search for Miller, teams had gotten close enough to where the remains were found that he would have heard and responded when they called out his name, she said, adding there is comfort knowing he didn’t suffer long.

“I hated to think he was suffering, and we couldn’t find him,” she said.

She said she is grateful for the outpouring of support from people all over the world sending thoughts and prayers through social media during the past 18 months. There have also been people in Joshua Tree and Twentynine Palms who have kept searching, she said.

“One man who lives three to four hours away has gone a number of times searching for Paul,” she said.

“I have been amazed by the amount of people touched by his story,” she said. “It blows me away that strangers have kept us in their thoughts and prayers. I’m so grateful.”

Details regarding a memorial and celebration of Miller’s life will be announced at a later time.

Robinson had told The Desert Sun last week that without the images from a drone – flown over the area in November by the Utah-based nonprofit organization, Western States Aerial Search – it’s hard to know how much longer the remains may have gone undiscovered.

“Perhaps we would have found Paul eventually, but it would have taken a lot longer without their help,” Robinson said.

Robinson and her husband, Dave, had traveled to the park from Canada twice over the last 18 months to hike the area multiple times with a team of Joshua Tree Search and Rescue members, searching for her brother.

“Dave and I were so close (several times) to where the remains were found and missed them,” Robinson said on Monday.

JOSAR members were also close to the spot early in the search for Miller, she said.

“It’s so hard to see around every rock,” Robinson said.

Stephanie Miller hopes her husband’s incident will make it easier for drones to be flown in national parks to help search for missing hikers.

Close family friend Ainsley Otten made the announcement for the family on Facebook Tuesday morning.

“Thank you to everyone who has supported the search for answers into Paul’s disappearance and provided much needed love and prayer for his family,” Otten wrote.