A collaboration between law enforcement and Othram has resulted in the identification of a 1982 cold case victim found in the Muir Woods National Monument. Utilizing modern genetic genealogy, the team created a geological profile of the victim ultimately providing new leads to law enforcement.
In the fall of 1982 investigators were alerted to the discovery of unidentified skeletal remains near the Deer Park Fire Trail in Marin County, California. The investigators were unable to identify the remains but did determine that the remains were that of a male between the ages of 60 and 70 years old. Eventually, the man would become known as Marin County John DOE 82-278.
Details of the case were entered into NamUs in April 2018, but the case went cold due to a lack of viable leads.
In 2022, the Marin County Sheriff and California Department of Justice partnered with Othram Forensics to develop a genetic profile of the man to aid investigators in finding his identity. After submitting forensic evidence to Othram, Ohtram successfully developed a comprehensive DNA profile of the man after extracting DNA from the forensic evidence. Using the DNA profile, the in-house genetic genealogy team at Othram conducted genealogy research to provide new leads to law enforcement.
Using the new information gained, Marin County coroner investigators conducted a follow-up investigation ultimately leading them to potential relatives of the unknown man. After collecting reference DNA samples from a potential relative, the man was positively identified as Sigvard Svensson.
This case marks the 40th case in California in which officials have identified unknown individuals using genetic genealogy techniques developed by Othram.