The FBI has confirmed that the body dug up in the backyard of Maplecrest Drive on Thursday is that of fugitive Donald Eugene Webb, charged in the slaying of a Pennsylvania police chief.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Massachusetts positively identified the remains that were recovered by the Massachusetts State Police Crime Scene Services Section, with the assistance of the FBI and Pennsylvania State Police, according to FBI officials.

Webb’s remains were found buried in the back of the property located at 28 Maplecrest Drive in Dartmouth. Investigators have learned that Webb passed away approximately seventeen years ago in 1999. The cause of Webb's death is not yet clear.

Webb was one of the longest tenured fugitives ever to appear on the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” list. He was added to the list on May 4, 1981 and removed on March 31, 2007, according to officials.

Webb, a career criminal with ties to organized crime in Providence, has been a fugitive since the day Saxonburg Police Chief Gregory Adams was killed during what authorities believe started as a traffic stop in Saxonburg on December 4, 1980.

Webb was also the only fugitive in the U.S. wanted for the murder of a police chief.

On December 31, 1980, a federal arrest warrant was issued for Webb after he was charged with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, and charged in Pennsylvania with first degree murder for the slaying of Adams.

The FBI, along with state authorities from both Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, convened Thursday at 28 Maplecrest Drive, home of Lillian Webb, the former wife of the long-time fugitive, and her son, Stanley.

Attorney Thomas King, representing the Adams' family in a lawsuit against Lillian and Stanley, said the family is both sad and elated at the discovery.

"The long blue line of police officials ... held for all these years. They're very proud that Chief Adam's service was honored," King said, mentioning FBI agents, state police, and prosecutors.

"His wife is the one who led us to the body," King added, referring to Lillian Webb.

The FBI was offering a reward up to $100,000, payable to any individual who could provide information about his whereabouts, dead or alive. However, that reward will not be paid out given that Mr. Webb’s location was determined through investigative efforts.

As this remains an ongoing investigation, no additional information or comment will be provided at this time, FBI officials said.