Summary

In June 2004, a hiker discovered a human skull approximately fifteen miles south of Red Lodge, Montana. Law enforcement responded with search teams and recovered a femur and pelvic bone. Subsequent forensic analysis determined that the bones came from the same individual and indicated that they belonged to a male between the ages of 15 and 32. DNA from the remains were entered in the Missing and Unidentified Remains section of the national Combined DNA Index System, but there was no match with a relative donor. The case was entered into NamUs as UP8932 but there were no matches to known missing persons.

In 2022, with assistance from the US Department of Justice, the FBI, the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) and the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case team, Carbon County Sheriff’s Office engaged Othram to initiate a genetic genealogy investigation to develop new leads in the case. The skeletal evidence was sent to Othram’s lab in The Woodlands, Texas. Othram’s team developed a DNA extract from the degraded remains and then used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive DNA profile from the skeletal remains. This DNA profile was returned to the investigators and the investigators used the profile in a genealogical search to identify possible distant genetic relatives. Genetic genealogy research, executed by local law enforcement and…