‘Never forget you’: Family grieves after Tyler Goodrich’s body found 16 months later

By John Grinvalds and Amber Little
Published: Mar. 10, 2025 at 7:12 PM EDT | Updated: Mar. 11, 2025 at 9:37 AM EDT

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - The Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Monday that remains found in a wooded area Saturday belong to Tyler Goodrich, who had been missing for more than a year.

Chief Deputy Ben Houchin said evidence at the scene allowed investigators to positively identify Tyler, bringing some closure to a search that spanned 16 months. ... For his family, the confirmation was full of many emotions. ... “You had that moment, and it was a mixed moment,” said Tyler’s father, Lonnie. “A moment of, ‘We have him, thank God.’ But then the reality of, ‘We have him. Oh my God.’”

Tyler’s face had been displayed on billboards, in yards, and across shop windows throughout Nebraska since his disappearance in November 2023. Twenty-eight thousand people in a Facebook group became invested in the search and the story — capturing the attention of Dateline’s Missing in America podcast.

His father, still shaken from seeing his son’s tattoos on his remains, now faces the reality that those reminders of Tyler will soon fade. ... “This piece of history will be forgotten,” Lonnie said. “Things that have been a piece of me for 16 months will gradually erode away. I know that.”

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