WASHINGTON, N.C. (WITN) – Police say no DNA could be pulled from remains found in a Washington creek earlier this year, but they’re confident the bones belong to three missing men from 40 years ago.

William Clifton, David McMicken, and Michael Norman were last seen in a bar in Chocowinity on December 10th, 1982.

ReAnne Clifton, William’s daughter, says police confirmed Tuesday that the 1976 Camaro pulled from Jack’s Creek in February is her father’s.

She says police told her all three remains found with the car belong to the missing men. Police confirmed the car’s connection to the missing men on Valentine’s Day of this year.

Washington police say due to the condition of the skeletal remains, DNA profiles could not be obtained for any of the remains. But police say they’re confident the remains belong to Clifton, McMicken, and Norman.

A news release says they found three left femur bones, indicating three people inside the car. The car belonged to Clifton, based on a VIN pulled from the wreckage, police say.

Woolard’s Automotive owner Janet Woolard helped find the VIN and said the water helped protect the car from rust, but now it is quickly falling apart.

“What’s left of it is not much as the oxygen has reached most of its parts it’s deteriorating,” Woolard said.

The search for the missing men gained traction in early February after a man from Myrtle Beach, Jason Souhrada, discovered the possibility of a vehicle in Jack’s Creek.

Souhrada told WITN in February that he’d been in touch with the family members, leading him to design a boogie board sonar device that found a vehicle upside down about 11 feet below the surface of the water.

In a Facebook post, Clifton thanked everyone who helped in the search and the community’s unwavering support.

“When this case started I was four so it’s a good thing for the community and families to have closure in the case,” Police Chief Phil Rollinson said.