'I'm Relieved': Sister Grateful For Closure After Missing Brother Found In Chimney

WOODLAND PARK, Colo. (CBS4)- The remains of 18-year-old man reported missing seven years ago were found in the chimney of an abandoned cabin less than a mile from his home. Investigators believe it's unlikely they'll ever know the circumstances surrounding his death.

Construction crews found Joshua Maddux's body as they tore down the cabin in Woodland Park that had been abandoned for more than a decade. Authorities had to use dental records to identify the remains as those of Maddux, who was reported missing in May 2008 but not as a runaway.

Maddux was probably trying to shimmy down the chimney when he got stuck, Teller County Coroner Al Born said. His death was ruled accidental, and there were no signs of trauma, Born said. It's unclear how long Maddux's remains had been in the chimney.

His family says they are devastated by the news but now have some closure.

"I'm relieved that we finally are able to give him a proper burial and because that's what he deserves," said Maddux's sister Ruth Maddux.

They don't know why he would have been in the cabin.

Maddux's death has been ruled an accident. His family searched for him for years.

The cabin's owner, Chuck Murphy, said the place was abandoned but that mice and chipmunks would occasionally get in and die, leaving a bad smell