In September 2018, the owner of a wooded piece of land in Chapin Township, MI, was checking game cameras and discovered the remains of an unidentified man. The unidentified man had been fully skeletonized by the time he was discovered, suggesting a time of death at around 1-5 years prior to discovery. An autopsy confirmed that the cause of death was severe blunt force trauma. The state of decomposition made it difficult to confirm the man's physical attributes, but pathologists were able to determine that the man was likely an adult male between the ages of 25 and 55, who stood at around 5’10 feet tall. There was no definitive assessment of biogeographical ancestry. The unknown man was fully clothed and had black Sketchers work boots, a 32-inch Calvin Klein belt, and a Boston Trader’s sweatshirt.
Forensic anthropologists and police investigators believe the man's death could be a homicide. Many of his bones were broken, consistent with the unknown man being severely beaten, hit by a vehicle, or falling from a high point. Investigators are hopeful that identifying this man may lead to answers surrounding his mysterious death. Investigators exhausted all available leads, including DNA testing through CODIS.
In 2021, Det./Sgt. Simons from the Saginaw County Sheriff's Office was referred to Othram Inc. Simons engaged Othram and skeletal remains were sent to Othram's lab. The lab used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing to build a comprehensive genealogical profile. From genealogical search, based on the profile, Othram scientists gave Simons information that updated the biogeographical ancestry of the unknown man to East Asian. Simons took this information and along with Det. North searched for open cases involving missing Asian males in the state of Michigan during the time frame established earlier. A person of interest was developed: Xin Rong, a 27-year-old, Asian male, PhD student of University of Michigan, who was reported missing in 2017.
University of Michigan police were contacted, and the Xin Rong case was discussed and dental records were sent to Dr. Hefner for comparison. Hefner was able to make a positive identification, confirming that the remains belong to Mr. Xin Rong.
Republished courtesy of DNASolves/Othram. You can view more cases that need help with funding here. Photo credit: Othram.