Tri-Towns Bureau

A rifle was near skeletal remains found Saturday in Oneonta and its presence increases the likelihood the death was a suicide, an investigator said Tuesday.

Investigators are "95 percent certain" the remains belong to Bruce Glassmire, who had been missing since May 1995, said Senior Investigator Rick Charles of the state police at Oneonta, which is investigating the case with Oneonta police.

Family members said Glassmire owned a gun like the .22-caliber rifle found at the scene, Charles said. It was missing the stock, he said.

Charles said the positioning of the rifle "was consistent with him leaning up against a tree and committing suicide."

"It's in pretty rough shape," he said. "We are trying to clean it up and check the serial number to make sure it is his."

The job will be made more difficult, Charles said, because the area where the remains were found is in a flood plain. The rifle has been underwater for a period of time during the seven years since it was probably last used, he said.

A final identification of the remains can't be made until dental records are located, Charles said.

Glassmire, of New Rochelle, was 57 when he disappeared while visiting family in the area, his brother, Richard, of Morris, said Sunday.

Richard Glassmire said Tuesday if the state police are correct about the fate of his brother and the cause of death, he would be surprised.

Charles said there was no reason to suspect foul play.

The remains were discovered by an Oneonta resident walking along property next to the railroad tracks east of Rose Avenue, troopers said Sunday.

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Mark Boshnack can be reached at mboshnack@thedailystar.com or (607) 563-1493.