Jan. 31—Advanced DNA analysis has confirmed that a piece of human skull found in a retention pond in Amity Township in 2022 belonged to a 59-year-old Pottstown man who went missing after trying to kill his wife nearly 20 years ago, Berks County detectives announced Wednesday.

Investigators suspected the bone — the top part of a skull — would match Roger Hart after it was found in the 100 block of Pine Lane by a 13-year-old boy searching the murky water on April 30, 2022.

It was not far from where Hart’s unoccupied vehicle was discovered 18 years earlier. His keys and wallet were found in the front seat of the vehicle, which was located soon after Hart fled after trying to kill his wife in their Pottstown home, investigators said.

A neighbor reported seeing a male matching Hart’s description get out of this vehicle and enter an adjoining wooded area. Hart has not been seen since April 2004.

Pottstown police charged Hart on April 23, 2004, with attempted homicide, aggravated assault and stalking.

According to Amity Police Chief Jeffrey Smith, the boy who found the remains was wading in the water in search of amphibious animals when his toe felt something he initially thought was a turtle shell. He used a stick to pick it up and got the impression it might be a human skull.

Smith said the boy had his uncle confirm his suspicion, and the uncle called police.

The Berks County coroner’s office took possession of the bone.

No other human remains were found in two separate searches of the pond by emergency personnel, including members of an underwater search and recovery team.

As part of the ongoing investigation, the skull was sent to Mercyhurst University in Erie for anthropological examination, which revealed the skull belonged to a male and had been exposed to the elements longer than 10 years, officials said.

Advanced DNA analysis was conducted by the state police forensic laboratory and the FBI Laboratory Division, Quantico, Va.

Based on the investigation and the DNA testing, investigators concluded the partial skull was that of Roger Hart.

Because of the condition and lack of additional skeletal remains, a cause of death cannot be determined, officials said.

Besides the FBI and state police, Amity police and county detectives were assisted in the investigation by Pottstown police and the Berks coroner’s office.