DALLAS (WJW) — For more than 50 years, one Texas family never knew what happened to their teenage son. He simply never came home.

Now thanks to a big breakthrough, the oldest missing persons case in Texas (according to the FOX affiliate in Dallas) has been solved — two cases in fact have been solved.

A detective with the Dallas Police Department, Ryan Dalby, was recently looking over the disappearance of 16-year-old Norman Prater, who was reported missing by his family back in January 1973, when he made a connection to a seemingly unrelated hit-and-run that occurred six months later.

In July of that year, a male died in a crash on Highway 35 in Rock Port, where the driver fled the scene. Police were never able identify the victim.

In a statement, Dallas police said Dalby looked at “key details” in the still-open cases and believed a link between the incidents was possible. In reaching out to Prater’s brother, he confirmed the connection.

“This resolution stands as a testament to the Dallas Police Department’s commitment to the cases we pursue and the families we serve, no matter how much time has passed,” Dallas Police Chief Daniel Comeaux said in a statement. “Detective Dalby’s dedication, skill, and compassion have not only solved a historical case but have performed the most vital duty of our Missing Persons Unit: providing closure to a grieving family.”

Prater’s missing person profiler on the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children has since been taken down, but can be viewed right here.

It is still not exactly clear what led to Prater being so far from home when he met his untimely death.