Human Remains Identified as Lauderdale County Man Missing Since 2016

The Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office says human remains discovered earlier this year have been positively identified as a man who had been missing for nearly a decade.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded on March 21, 2026, to the 5000 block of County Road 10 after receiving a report of possible human remains in a wooded area behind a residence. Investigators secured the scene and, with assistance from the Alabama State Fire Marshal’s Office, excavated the remains.

The Lauderdale County Coroner transported the remains to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences in Huntsville for an autopsy and forensic examination.

Authorities said DNA evidence recovered with the remains matched a profile in the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), positively identifying the deceased as Robert Deshawn Childers.

Childers was reported missing on September 19, 2016, from the Cloverdale community in Lauderdale County.

Officials said the manner of Childers’ death remains undetermined, and the investigation remains active and ongoing.

Anyone with information that may assist investigators is asked to contact the Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office by email at dhogue@lauderdalecountyal.gov or by phone at 256-760-5761.