{"id":293926,"date":"2026-06-03T02:31:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T02:31:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/293926\/"},"modified":"2026-06-03T02:31:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T02:31:12","slug":"missing-florida-mans-remains-identified-after-being-found-on-eglin-afb-property-10-years-after-he-vanished","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/293926\/","title":{"rendered":"Missing Florida man\u2019s remains identified after being found on Eglin AFB property 10 years after he vanished"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\" article <\/p>\n

A booking photograph of John Thomas “JT” Watson is pictured alongside a wooded area where crime scene tape marks the location on Eglin Air Force Base property where his skeletal remains were discovered. Courtesy: Walton County Sheriff’s Office.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

DEFUNIAK SPRINGS, Fla. – A missing Florida<\/a> man has been identified a decade after he disappeared, following the discovery of human remains on Eglin Air Force Base property.\u00a0<\/p>\n

John Thomas “JT” Watson, of DeFuniak Springs, was 38 years old when he vanished in August 2015, prompting years of extensive searches by local law enforcement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Florida man identified <\/p>\n

What we know:<\/p>\n

According to the Walton County Sheriff\u2019s Office, John Thomas “JT” Watson was released from prison on July 1, 2015, and stayed with family and at motels in DeFuniak Springs while trying to rebuild his life.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In August 2015, investigators said he bought two used vehicles, a Ford Mustang and a Mitsubishi Mirage. He was last seen driving the Mirage in DeFuniak Springs on Friday, Aug. 7, 2015.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

John Thomas “JT” Watson, 38, was last seen driving in DeFuniak Springs on Friday, Aug. 7, 2015, before his remains were discovered a decade later on military property. Courtesy: Walton County Sheriff’s Office.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Law enforcement officers found the Mirage abandoned with the keys inside on a large, wooded section of Eglin property between Coy Burgess Loop and Nelson Road on Oct. 18, 2015. It was photographed, towed, and taken into evidence, according to WCSO.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On Nov. 24, 2025, human remains were discovered near Forest Oak Road on Eglin Air Force Base property. Workers also found a set of keys belonging to Watson’s Ford Mustang near the skeletal remains, though no weapons were located.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and DNA Labs International used DNA analysis to positively identify the remains as Watson.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Walton County Sheriff’s Office, the District 1 Medical Examiner’s Office and the Legacy K9 Search Team all assisted in the investigation.<\/p>\n

Yellow crime scene tape marks a heavily wooded section of Eglin Air Force Base property near Forest Oak Road where the skeletal remains of John Thomas “JT” Watson were discovered. Image is courtesy of the Walton County Sheriff’s Office.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Active Walton County investigation <\/p>\n

What we don’t know:<\/p>\n

Authorities have not yet confirmed Watson’s cause of death or how his remains ended up near Forest Oak Road. Investigators have not released information regarding whether foul play is suspected in his disappearance.<\/p>\n

The investigation into Watson’s death remains ongoing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

Investigators with the District 1 Medical Examiner’s Office walk through a heavily wooded section of Eglin Air Force Base property during the recovery operation. Courtesy: Walton County Sheriff’s Office. <\/p>\n

What you can do:<\/p>\n

Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the Walton County Sheriff’s Office at 850-892-8111, or contact Emerald Coast Crime Stoppers at 850-863-TIPS to leave an anonymous tip.<\/p>\n

The Source: The information in this story was gathered from the Walton County Sheriff’s Office, which explained how investigators utilized DNA analysis and partnering agencies to identify the remains of John Thomas “JT” Watson.<\/p>\n

Florida<\/a>Missing Persons<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"article A booking photograph of John Thomas “JT” Watson is pictured alongside a wooded area where crime scene…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":293927,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[630,47,28,30,29,6888,115,628],"class_list":["post-293926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-crime-publicsafety","tag-fl","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-missing-persons","tag-news","tag-us"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293926","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=293926"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293926\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/293927"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=293926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=293926"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=293926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}