GASQUET, Calif. — Remains found in March have been confirmed to be those of a lifelong resident of the Illinois Valley who went missing 18 months ago while hunting for mushrooms in rough terrain near Gasquet.

The Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office announced Monday that DNA testing confirmed the remains found March 11 by mushroom hunters were those of 59-year-old Lee Martinho.

Family members say the remains were found in steep, brushy terrain less than two miles from this hamlet along the Smith River, near Gasquet Mountain Road, above Hardscrabble Creek.

Martinho’s girlfriend reported him missing on Dec. 11, 2015, the day after he wandered off late at night from their camp.

Manuel Martinho, brother of the deceased, said he was told by law enforcement there wasn’t enough remains to indicate cause of death. But he presumed he died of exposure.

He said the body was found a little over a mile up the road, closer to Gasquet than searchers had been looking. Searchers from multiple agencies including Josephine County Search and Rescue, some using dogs, had been unable to locate Martinho. He was last seen wearing rain gear, blue jeans, logging boots and a hooded sweatshirt, and carrying a 5-gallon bucket.

“It’s so thick and brushy in there it could have taken an army a year to find him,” said Manuel Martinho, who went to the scene where the remains were found. “They (mushroom hunters) just happened to come across the right place.”

Manuel Martinho added that it took a few weeks for the body to be officially identified, using DNA.

Sister Kathleen McVarish of Cave Junction said Lee would give the shirt off his back even when he was poor.

“He had a very good heart,” she said.

Martinho was a carpenter by trade who loved camping and gold mining, McVarish said. He was also a state champion wrestler for Illinois Valley High in 1973 at 96 pounds.

A service is planned for 11 a.m. Saturday at Laurel Cemetery, 1090 Laurel Road in Cave Junction.

According to social media posts, it is a “lawn chair potluck” event.

“We all love and miss him terribly and are happy to have this closure,” posted family member Rhonda Martinho-Adams.