COMANCHE COUNTY — The search in southern Kansas for a 53-year-old priest who went missing from a nursing home ended Wednesday in Comanche County.

The County Communications Center received a 911 call advising that a person thought they had found human remains in a pasture on the east side of Protection, according to Sheriff Mike Lehl.

Authorities responded to the scene and determined it was human remains. The State Coroners office was notified at that time and responded to the scene to assist with the investigation.

The remains were transported to Comanche County Hospital for a positive identification and then on to Nicholson-Ricke funeral home in Hoisington.

The remains were confirmed to be that of Father Marvin Reif. The family has been notified and the remains released to them, according to Lehl.

In April of 2017, Ref went missing from the Protection Valley Manor, a nursing home where he had been living since October 2016.

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PROTECTION, Kan. (AP) — A search is underway in southern Kansas for a 53-year-old priest who went missing from a nursing home.

Thursday’s search for Marvin Reif near Protection in Comanche County was involving more than 100 people, some on horseback and all-terrain vehicles.

Reif went missing 10 days earlier from Protection Valley Manor, a nursing home where he had been living since October. That site says Reif went walking each day around town as part of his treatment.

Reif’s sister, Karen Winkelman, said her brother had a history of depression, and that their mother’s death last month was particularly difficult for him.

As a nurse who tended to Reif, Karla Harvey says Reif spent his days reading the Bible and often fed the squirrels outside.