The oldest missing persons case in Dallas, Texas, the disappearance of 16-year-old Norman Prater, remained a mystery for 52 years - until now, according to police and media reports. The Dallas Police Department has solved what happened to Prater after his family reported him missing on January 14, 1973, the agency announced in a news release on Friday, January 2. Now, Prater's loved ones are provided "with long-awaited peace," thanks to the "exceptional work" of Dallas missing persons detective Ryan Dalby, the department said. The last sighting of Prater was in East Dallas, where he had been walking with friends, KDFW-TV reported. Missing Juvenile Was Allegedly Found in Registered Sex Offender's Car Months after he disappeared, "an unidentified white male" died in a hit-and-run on Highway 35 in Aransas Texas, in July 1973 in what was a "seemingly separate" incident, according to police. Dalby ultimately learned that Prater's disappearance and the Aransas County crash were actually related, police said. Aransas County is about a 380-mile drive southeast from Dallas. The detective recently heard from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and learned that an Aransas County medical examiner had been examining older files that led them to suspect the teen killed in the hit and run was Prater, according to KXAS-TV. "I pull up the file, and I'm looking at it, I'm like, 'Are you kidding me?,'" Dalby told the TV station. While consulting with a forensic examiner, Dalby realized that a postmortem photo from the hit-and-run was a match to a National Center for Missing & Exploited Children photo Prater, KXAS-TV reported. Dalby's "diligent work established a compelling match between the unidentified 1973 hit-and-run victim and the missing Norman Prater," the Dallas police said. After making the connection, according to police, Dalby found Prater's brother, Isaac Prater. "Through this contact, Detective Dalby was able to conclusively confirm the identity of the unknown individual as Norman Prater, finally solving both the Dallas missing persons case and the Aransas County unidentified persons' case," the department said. After Isaac Prater was shown a photo of the body from the hit-and-run scene, he confirmed it was his brother, according to KDFW-TV. Cops Have New Leads in Disappearance of Baby Gabriel Johnson: Report "He just looked at me and goes, 'That scar right there on the lip," Dalby said of Isaac Prater, while speaking with the TV station. "That's where he got bit by a dog. That scar on the eyebrow, that is where he got into a fight. That is my brother. We can close the case now.'" "To bring closure to a family member who has been waiting 52 years, I really can't describe how I feel," Dalby told the TV station. Though the exact circumstances of Norman Prater's disappearance are unclear, Dalby suspects the teen had been hitchhiking before he was killed in the hit-and-run crash, KDFW-TV reported. "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," Comeaux added.