Credit: www.coconino.az.gov
The Coconino County Sheriff’s Office, in partnership with Intermountain Forensics, the FBI’s Latent Print Unit, and the Coconino County Office of the Medical Examiner has successfully identified remains found 49 years ago as Gerald Francis Long, a Vietnam veteran originally from Minnesota.
Long’s skeletal remains were discovered on April 19th, 1975, when farmers chasing a runaway pig found them off Meteor City Road, 40 miles east of Flagstaff. For 49 years, efforts to positively identify the remains were unsuccessful.
The victim became known as Munsingwear Doe, named for a Munsingwear brand jacket found with the remains. Multiple detectives and cold case volunteers developed numerous leads over the years, but none resulted in a positive identification.
In August 2023, CCSO contracted with Intermountain Forensics of Salt Lake City, UT, to identify Munsingwear Doe through the Forensic Genetic Genealogy process. A DNA profile was developed and compared with existing profiles in available genealogy databases. Investigators at Intermountain Forensics were able to identify a family line and by February 2024 had identified Gerald Long as a potential match.
CCSO Detectives contacted a surviving family member who identified Long as a US Army veteran who served in Vietnam. Detectives learned Long enlisted in the US Army in January 1969 and deployed to Vietnam later that year. Long returned to Minnesota in February 1972 and was discharged from the US Army a month later. In October 1972, Long told his family he was leaving Minnesota and heading to the West Coast. This was the last time family members had seen or heard from Long.
Using this information, the FBI Laboratory’s Latent Print Unit was able to compare partial fingerprints from the remains collected in 1975 to known fingerprint records belonging to Gerald Long. This comparison was a positive match and was the first verifiable information on Munsingwear Doe’s identity.
Long’s family then provided a DNA sample for direct comparison to the collected remains, and in May 2024, scientists at Intermountain Forensics confirmed through family DNA comparison that Munsingwear Doe was Gerald F Long.
The cause of Long’s death was not determined in 1975 and remains unknown today.
The Coconino County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank Intermountain Forensics, the FBI’s Latent Print Unit, and the Coconino Office of the Medical Examiner for their dedication and effort into identifying Gerlad F Long.
The Sheriff’s Office offers its deepest condolences to Mr. Long’s family, who have requested privacy at this time.
Republished courtesy of Coconino County Sheriff’s Office.