Joshua Larkin, 38, was last seen on Nov. 17, 2022
Credit: Newton County Sheriff’s Office
NEED TO KNOW
- Human remains that could be tied to a 2022 missing person’s case were found on Sept. 24
- Joshua Larkin, 38, was last seen in November 2022, and his locked car and belongings were found a day after he vanished
- Authorities will submit the possible human remains for DNA analysis and identification
Human remains found in Texas could be related to a missing man who was last seen in 2022.
“Possible human remains were discovered” at approximately 9:13 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 24 in a wooded area off FM 82 near the Wildlife Cat Refuge, the Newton County Sheriff’s Office said.
The location is the same area where 38-year-old Joshua Larkin told his mother he was going to meet friends to go hunting, but was never seen again, KHOU, KJAS, KFDM and Fox 4 Beaumont reported.
Credit: Jasper County Sheriff’s Office – TX
Larkin’s mother last saw him at her Kirbyville home around 9 a.m. on Nov. 17, 2022.
“Sheriff Colton Havard and Newton County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the scene and made a preliminary determination that the remains appeared to be those of an adult human,” the agency said over the weekend.
However, the Newton County Sheriff’s Office did not mention Larkin by name in its update, and said the remains would be submitted to the University of North Texas for DNA analysis and identification.
PEOPLE reached out to the NCSO for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
The remains included a human skull, Havard said, per Fox 4 Beaumont.
Larkin told his mother that he was going hunting on a friend’s property at the Exotic Cat Refuge off Private Road 7025. When his locked car was found the following day with his belongings inside, authorities suspected foul play when the 38-year-old was never seen again, KHOU reported.
Equusearch, a Texas-based nonprofit organization that helps police and families find missing persons, said four suspects were arrested in connection with Larkin’s disappearance as of November 2025.
Credit: Newton County Sheriff’s Office
Justin Taylor James and Johnathan “Cody” Bierhalter were initially charged with murder and tampering with evidence with intent to impair a corpse. Rodney Allen Blankenship and James Alex Jones were charged with tampering with evidence. A fifth person, Hank James Jones, was arrested in July 2026 and charged with tampering with evidence, per KHOU.
The murder charges against James and Bierhalter were dismissed earlier this month, according to the news station.
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The charges were dropped because of what was described as a lack of physical evidence, KJAS reported.
The investigation remains active and ongoing.
Anyone with information regarding the disappearance of Larkin is asked to call the Newton County Sheriff’s Office at 409-379-3636.
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