Remains identified as Carolina Beach man missing since 2012

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — Skeletal remains found in Monkey Junction in November have now been identified as a 20-year-old missing since May of 2012.

According to the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office, dental records confirm they found the remains of John Calvin Pensyl.

Pensyl was last seen May 17, 2012 at the bus stop near the Lowe’s Home Improvement Store on Carolina Beach Road.

On November 21, a construction crew found bones in a wooded area behind the Walmart on Carolina Beach Road.

Detectives went to the scene and contacted a professor from UNCW who confirmed they belonged to a human. CSI collected the remains and sent them to East Carolina University where the medical examiner’s office there identified them.

The remains were returned to New Hanover County earlier this week.

The sheriff’s office says foul play is not suspected, but the fact that the remains were so degraded means they can’t definitely determine how Pensyl died.