NEWPORT — Human remains discovered in Pend Oreille County have been identified as those of Jason Michael Fox, the sheriff's office said on Tuesday.

The death of Fox, 19, has been ruled a homicide.

Sheriff Glenn Blakeslee had no comment on Tuesday, but said in a news release that no additional details were available for release.

Fox was reported missing by family members on Sept. 16, 2020, spurring an investigation into his disappearance. Deputies from the Pend Oreille and Spokane county sheriff's offices in Washington and Montana's Lincoln County Sheriff's Office combined forces to find Fox. The Washington State Patrol also sought the whereabouts of Fox, whose remains were found on Sunday, Oct. 4, in an undisclosed area in Pend Oreille County.

"Based on evidence gathered during this investigation it is now considered a homicide," Bakeslee said in the news release.

Those with information about the case are urged to call the Pend Oreille County Sheriff's Office at 509-447-3151. The case number is 20-NP1637/20-5253.

Fox's parents, Michael and Susan, told Spokane TV station KREM that he had not responded to text messages since Sept. 14. That's the same day that he missed lunch with his family.

In a text message thread with Jason, Michael asked his son where he was on Sept. 14, and Jason responded that he was busy and forgot about their plans. Michael told Jason he loved him and Jason did not respond after that point.

Michael provided the following statement to KREM:

"The loss of Jason is a devastating blow to our family. We fervently hoped for a different outcome. We would like to thank everyone who helped to bring him home. The long hours put in by both Newport PD and Pend Oreille County Sheriff's Office, taking and following up on tips provided by the public as a result of the KREM 2 segment, the thousands of shares of the Facebook posts, the Instagram and Tik Tok videos, so many people helped in this difficult time and we want to thank each of them. This is not over for us or our community yet though, arrests have not been made, the animals who did this are roaming free when they should be caged for life."

The Fox family is urging the public to contact the sheriff's office if they have information about the teen's disappearance and murder.

"Jason deserves justice," Fox's family said "This will never be over for us until that happens."

Keith Kinnaird can be reached at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com or followed on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.