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The remains of an elderly Lanham man with Alzheimer's disease were found Oct. 1 a half-mile from his home, more than two years after he went missing.

Waldir Pedersoli, who was 75 and had trouble walking and seeing at the time of his disappearance, wandered from his home in the 9400 block of Presley Place in Lanham on Aug. 24, 2007.

Family members said his remains were found on Oct. 1 near the Seventh Day Adventist Church on Good Luck Road in Lanham by workers who were clearing brush.

Dental records confirm that the remains are those of Waldir Pedersoli, said Officer Henry Tippett, spokesman for the Prince George's County Police Department.

Waldir's widow, Heleni Pedersoli, 68, said that before the discovery she had driven by this spot two times a day, five days a week, while going to and from work.

"Knowing that [his remains were] there the whole time? I was surprised," she said. "Police told us they were 99.99 percent sure he wasn't in the area. Isn't it something?"

Heleni Pedersoli said her husband likely slipped and fell down the hill. More than two years later, one flip-flop and his glasses remained at the top of the hill.

"It's sadness because now we know he is really gone, but it's also relief that we know exactly what happened," she said.

Heleni Pedersoli said a memorial Mass is being planned and that soon after, she and her son John will travel to the Pedersolis' native Brazil to spread Waldir's ashes.

Heleni Pedersoli celebrated her 50th wedding anniversary Sept. 5 by attending church.

"At that point I was still married — I still celebrated my 50th anniversary," Heleni Pedersoli said. "Now I know I'm a widow."

John Pedersoli, 49, of Greenbelt said his father's body was found about 50 yards from where the tracking dogs with Mid Atlantic Regional Search and Rescue, a New Jersey-based volunteer group that assists in missing person searches, lost his scent on Aug. 25, 2007. The trained bloodhounds didn't track Waldir Pedersoli past the corner of Presley and Good Luck roads.

"When the detectives told me where he was found, I was basically shocked, almost in disbelief," he said. "That was my first comment...‘No way, you've got to be kidding.'"

The wooded area where his father was found was the only section of the nearby area he didn't search, John Pedersoli said.

"It's just shocking — it's a narrow section of woods between the church and the homes at the top of the hill, and he was there for over two years and not found. It's just hard to believe," he said. "Deep down it was always my fear that he was in the area, under our noses."

The day Waldir Pedersoli disappeared he was being watched by his youngest son, Marcello Pedersoli, 43, who lived in the family's home at the time. Marcello Pedersoli, who now lives in Florida, told family members and police that he went downstairs to watch television at about 3 p.m. while his father napped upstairs. About an hour later, Marcello checked on his father and found him missing.

The family searched the house and neighborhood for two hours, then called police, who scoured the area for hours.

In 2007, investigators believed a motorist picked Pedersoli up; family members suspected he may have boarded a local Metro bus.

In August, Prince George's County police said no new information had surfaced since early 2008 and there was no reason to believe Pedersoli was dead.

Before Waldir Pedersoli was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2004, he was a veterinary medicine professor at Auburn University in Alabama from 1967 to 1987. He moved to Prince George's County in 1988 to work for the Food and Drug Administration in Beltsville and retired in the late 1990s.