Larry Ely Murillo-Moncada, 25, was an employee at the No Frills supermarket in Council Bluffs, Iowa, when he went missing in November 2009.
The supermarket closed in 2016, but in January this year hidden human remains were discovered by a contractor as they removed refrigeration equipment, the Des Moines Register reported.
It's now believed Mr Murillo-Moncada climbed on top of fridges and fell into a 46cm gap between the cooler and a wall.
He was reported missing by his parents after he left his family home and didn't return. They believed he was acting irrationally at the time, possibly due to medication he was taking.
Investigators believe he visited the supermarket even though it wasn't his shift, before falling just over 3.5m from the top of the fridges.
Workers used to use the space above the coolers for storage, and often called in to the store when off-duty, it was reported.
According to Sergeant Brandon Danielson, from the Council Bluffs Police Department, the noising cooling equipment could have drowned out any calls for help.
DNA from Murillo-Moncada's family was used to identify his remains.
An autopsy found no signs of trauma, and the death was found to be accidental.
