From the Florida Times-Union

FILE - This a photo of Michael Scott Speicher made aboard the carrier USS Saratoga in June 18, 1990 when he was promoted to Lt. Commander. Speicher, whose jet fighter went down Jan. 17, 1991 over Iraq, has been missing ever since. Officials said Sunday Aug. 2, 2009, the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology has positively identified the remains of Captain Michael "Scott" Speicher, whose disappearance has bedeviled investigators since his jet was shot down over the Iraq desert on the first night of the war (AP Photo/Barry Hull, File)

After an 18-year saga, the remains of downed F/A-18 pilot Michael Scott Speicher have been found in Iraq, the Pentagon announced Sunday, buried in a grave near where his plane crashed on the first day of Operation Desert Storm.

“We thank the active duty men and women whose diligence has made this happen,” the family said in a statement about the search released by their lawyer, Cindy Laquidara.

The family, which declined to comment, is digesting the news but still has questions, Laquidara said, particularly relating to exactly when Speicher died.

“We’re discrediting the rumor that he died in the crash,” Laquidara said in an interview. “That’s just not accurate.”

That information does not fit with data the family has collected over the years, she said, an issue it will bring up during an expected meeting with the Defense Department.

Questions aside, the announcement moves Speicher’s family a step closer to ending the trial it has endured for almost two decades. …

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Tags | City of Jacksonville, U.S. Navy