BAY MINETTE – A concerned family helped authorities identify a body found in the Tensaw Delta in February.

As a result, the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office and Pritchard Police have launched a homicide investigation into the disappearance and death of Willie Earl Baker. He was reported missing in May 2009 after he failed to show up to work at the Alabama State Docks.

In mid-February, hog hunters found a human skull and bones near the Gen. W.K. Wilson Bridge, commonly known as the Dolly Parton Bridge. Capt. Steve Arthur with the sheriff’s office said the remains were “fairly weathered” and the skull “appeared to have an injury consistent with a bullet hole.” A photograph aired on WKRG televisions showed what appeared to be a bullet hole in the forehead of the skull, just above the left eye.

“We turned the bones over the state Department of Forensic Science and they told us the leg bone came from a man well over average height,” said Arthur. “We didn’t release that information.”

As the news of the discovery spread, the family of Baker called the sheriff’s office and said Baker had been missing for nearly three years and was 6’ 7” tall.

“Whenever a body is found, we get quite a few calls from families,” said Arthur. “Very few of them pan out. We were very fortunate that the teeth were intact and we were able to get a positive identification through dental records.”

Baker was 22 years old when he was last seen on April 30, 2009 while at work at the Alabama State Docks. About two weeks later, his mother, Lautrinda Baker of San Pablo, Calif., reported him missing to the Pritchard Police Department. After the body was positively identified, Lautrinda Baker posted a comment on the story on the WKRG website, beseeching authorities to “please find the killer.”

Since the bones were found in Baldwin County, BCSO is the lead investigating agency, Arthur said.

“We are working closely with the Pritchard Police Department,” said Arthur. “If we find out that Mr. Baker was killed somewhere else and then transported here — which is most likely the case — we will turn the investigation over.”

The search of the Lizard Creek and Mobile River areas only revealed a half-dozen bones. Investigators are still searching for the rest of Baker’s remains, as well as any information about his death and disappearance. Anyone with information is asked to call the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office at 251-972-8589.