KEYSTONE HEIGHTS, Fla. -- Nancy Montgomery could not have lived much closer to the Cooper family back in 2009.
"Just down my driveway," she said pointing to their old home.
Montgomery remembers Zachary Cooper, 15, hanging out in the yard. But it wasn't long after he and his dad, Dale, moved in that Zachary disappeared.
"You just kind of figure he's off somewhere. It's just one of those missing little boys that you go, I hope he's okay," she said.
Zachary was last seen by his father on April 9, 2009.
A missing person report was filed with the Clay County Sheriff's Office. In the report it says Mr. Cooper spoke to Zachary on the phone on April 10 from his place of employment. He told him not to leave the house until he arrived. But, by the time he got home Zachary was gone and no one has seen or heard from him since.
Police say Zachary had run away from home two years prior and was found at a friend's house.
This time neighbors, like Montgomery, helped the family scour the community to no avail.
But on Sunday, in the woods off CR 352, just across the street from where Zachary and his father lived, new property owners discovered skeletal remains on their land.
Police say a preliminary investigation points to the missing Keystone Heights teen.
"That was a total shock to find out they found bones over there. I think it's horrible. I want to know how this happened," said Montgomery.
Police tell Action News the skeletal remains were sent to the Medical Examiner's office in Jacksonville for an exact identification. The cause of death is still unknown/undetermined.
