MORAGA, Calif. -- Skeletal remains found by a hiker in the San Francisco Bay area earlier this year have been confirmed as belonging to a man who was reported missing nearly two decades ago, police said Tuesday.

The remains were identified as Richard Allen Saimons, after a DNA sample from the remains was analyzed by the California Department of Justice DNA Laboratory, CBS San Francisco reports.

Saimons was reported missing on August 2, 1998, after he left his home in Lafayette, California, and never returned. He was 37 years old at the time.

An autopsy conducted on Saimons' remains was unable to determine a cause of death. However, a forensic pathologist did not find any signs of foul play, according to police.

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The skeletal human remains were found on March 16 in a secluded area. Police said at the time that the remains appeared to have been there for some time.

Richard Allen Saimons went missing on August 2, 1998, after he left his home and never returned. Moraga Police Dept.

The hiker said he had been in the area, which is only accessible on foot or by a 4-wheel drive vehicle, when he found the bones near a creek.

After officers accompanied the hiker to the location, crime scene technicians, along with search and rescue personnel equipped with dogs and metal detectors, recovered the bones and also searched the area, police said.

The remains were then taken to the Contra Costa County coroner's bureau, according to police.

A family friend of Saimons spoke to CBS San Francisco about the news.

"It's just really sad that he could go missing and no one would have found him," Andrea Scroggy said.

The station said the Saimons family was upset and declined to be interviewed.