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UPDATE: The remains of a Lawrence County man reported missing nearly seven years ago have been found. Lawrence County Coroner Scott Norwood confirmed on Friday that the remains of Steven Patrick White have been identified. 

White was reported missing in October 2017. The 47-year-old was last seen walking into a wooded area near his home on Alabama 101 in the Hatton community.  

Authorities say White's remains were found south of Town Creek.

The Alabama Department of Forensic Science confirmed the remains were a positive DNA match for White.

WAAY 31 spoke with White's family in 2021, you can read more of that story here:

It has been four long years for the family of Steven Patrick White.

He hasn't been seen or heard from since October 2017, when he disappeared.

"We're just trying to keep it an active case by getting the public interested and maybe getting a new tip or something, because I know the family wants some closure," Lawrence County Sheriff Max Sanders said.

The 47-year-old was last seen walking into a wooded area near his home on Alabama 101 in the Hatton community.

"We are going to hang on to the fact that we know that, in God's timing and in God's way, we are going to find out where he is and what happened," White's sister, Delila Pierce, said.

White was trying to help a baby deer at the time. Since his disappearance, the wooded area near his home has been searched several times.

Only one small sign of him was found in 2018: a pair of gloves.

"He went into the woods," Pierce said. "He thought it was crippled, thought it was hurt and wanted to check on it, as so we were told by the last person to see him alive, which was his landlord."

White's family said he had only been living in the home for about two weeks before he went missing.

"It's hard," Pierce said. "Christmas was very hard — each Christmas, each birthday, each holiday. Our mother is getting very old, and that is just her wish. She prays so hard everyday, just to find something of him, some part of him."

Sanders said they aren't giving up on the case.

"We're going to find an answer," he said.

Sanders said he's certain someone knows something regarding White's disappearance. He said it's important they come forward with information as soon as possible.

As more time passes, missing-person cases can become more difficult.

They haven't ruled out foul play. Right now, they're counting on another lead.

"If he was alive, we do know he would be contacting us," Pierce said. "We were too close of a family. He did not go without talking to our mother everyday."

Pierce said her brother was planning to visit their mother on the day he disappeared. The family said they're missing the man who was their father, son, brother and friend.

"We just beg you," Pierce said. "We beg the public to just give any information that you have."

If you have any information regarding this case, call the Lawrence County Sheriff's Office at 256-974-9291. You can also submit an anonymous tip.