California investigators have utilized new DNA technology to finally identify the identity of a man found in a waterway in 2001.
Authorities announced last week Craig William Ott was the person found in Minor Slough on Ryer Island near Rio Vista in Solano County on March 11, 2001.
After discovering the body, investigators spent the next year trying to identify the person, but ultimately were not successful.
However, as identification technology advanced over the next 20-plus years, investigators opted to reopen the pursuit of identifying the body in 2023.
This decision was made as part of an initiative called the Doe Cold Case Project, which seeks to use new advancements in science and technology to identify previously unidentified bodies. The project is run by the Solano County Coroner’s Office to re-open and re-investigate cases of people who haven’t been identified in several years.
Authorities exhumed the body and spent over a year trying to find an identity. Ultimately, new DNA testing and forensic genetic genealogy enabled the forensic staff and coroner to identify the body as Ott.
“We hope that through a dedication to identification, we will be able to give these individuals their names and identities back and provide their families some form and level of closure,” the Solano County Sheriff's Office said in a press release.
The Solano County Coroner’s Office credited Othram Inc. and the California Department of Justice with their assistance in identifying Ott.
Othram is a company that provides laboratory science, software, and process, to build a robust infrastructure for forensic scientists to help identify unidentified bodies.
The company used genetic genealogy to develop a comprehensive genetic profile of the unknown person, who was called John Doe #3.
The investigators used this information to identify possible relatives who submitted DNA samples for comparison purposes.
Ott, who is from Sacramento, originally went missing in January 2001, but police did not release the circumstances in which he went missing.
While the body has been found, Ott's family remains steadfast that there are many unanswered questions remaining.
Ott's daughter, Sheila Ott, said the news left the family with “Too many questions with no answers.”
The Solano County Sheriff's Office is seeking more assistance into Ott's disappearance and is asking for information to contact Detective Christopher Cavazos at 707-784-7050 or Coroner Investigator Jessica Dew at 707-784-7500.