Report: Remains Found in Texas Could Be Missing North Druid Hills Musician

Skeletal remains found at a destroyed campsite in North Texas could be those of missing North Druid Hills musician Steven Marchi, a Texas newspaper reported Friday.

A skull was discovered near Lake Texacoma in Gainesville, TX, about an hour north of the Dallas-Fort Worth area on Monday, according to a report in the Gainesville Daily Register – several miles from the Walmart parking lot where last month. Days later, Cooke County law enforcement officials searched the area with a cadaver dog. They were led along a coyote track to a washed-away campsite where they found a piece of vertabrae, a water bottle, driver's license, blood donor card and passport belonging to Marchi.

Officials at the Cooke County Sheriff's Office could not be reached for comment Saturday, but they told the Register they do not believe foul play was involved. Law enforcement officials have to yet to officially confirm the remains are Marchi's. The skull and vertabrae have been sent to the University of North Texas for DNA analysis, which could take weeks, the Register report said.

But police now know Marchi did drive his truck to Texas after leaving his townhome at the intersection of North Druid Hills Road and Buford Highway on Aug. 12. Marchi's roommate, Jeffrey Powell, was visited by the DeKalb County Police Department shortly before Thanksgiving and identified Marchi in surveillance footage taken from the Walmart lot where his truck was found, said Kelly Hagen, one of Marchi's close friends who has assisted in the search for him.

The surveillance footage, at one point, shows Marchi returning to his truck to brush his teeth, the Register report said. He also bought aloe vera and apple cider vinegar from the Walmart, Hagen said. Police assume he hiked several miles to the campsite.

"It was during the intense heat wave we had at that time and Marchi may have become dehydrated," Cooke County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Jim Carter told the Register. "He could have become dehydrated or been bitten by a snake and had no means of communication because he had left his cell phone in Georgia."

Hagen said she felt relieved when the remains were found.

"When they found the surveillance video, everybody was a little hopeful that he was alive… but that didn’t sit right with me," she said in an interview Saturday. "I always had the feeling that he was gone. When they found the body, it was sort of, at least, a conclusion."

When he left his apartment Aug. 12, Marchi told Powell he was going out for a bit and never returned, but friends said Marchi took nothing to indicate he was leaving for very long. His cell phone and guitar, which he took everywhere, were left in his bedroom.

Marchi's truck was towed from the Walmart in October and sat in the tow company's lot for about a month before police were notified where it was.

Marchi was an acoustic songwriter who played in Atlanta venues including Eddie's Attic and Smith's Olde Bar. He lived in Atlanta for several years with stints in between in Chicago and Los Angeles, where he moved to play his music for several months about two years ago, Hagen said. He also worked as a freelance masseuse.

Although Marchi left his home Aug. 12, Powell reported him missing Aug. 22 because he said he had no reason to believe anything was wrong for several days.

"He's pretty much a free spirit – that's why I waited," he told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in August.