Skeletal parts found in 2021 have been identified as those of a missing man, an Arizona sheriff said.
DNA helped identify the remains as Brian Crain, 56 of Golden Valley, who was reported missing by family in September 2020, the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office said in an April 17 Facebook post.
A passerby stumbled upon the bones in January 2021 in Golden Galley, deputies said.
The Mohave County Medical Examiner’s Office was not able to identify the bones or determine the cause of death, the sheriff’s office said.
The case was added to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System in February 2021, according to a news release from Othram Inc., the forensic genealogy business that helped identify the remains.
The tweet below confirms the news:
The man reported missing in 2020 after his family had not heard from him in several weeks, deputies said. https://t.co/qCUvgfRdAy
— The Sacramento Bee (@sacbee_news) April 18, 2023
“With few leads to go on, the case soon went cold,” the company said.
In February, deputies said they sent a DNA sample from the bones to Othram.
“Using advanced DNA testing and Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing, Othram Inc. was able to identify the human remains as” Crain, the sheriff’s office said.
Genetic genealogy uses DNA testing coupled with “traditional genealogical methods” to build “family history profiles,” according to the Library of Congress. With genealogical DNA testing, researchers can discover if and how people are biologically related.
Crain’s disappearance and death are still being probed, Othram said.
Anyone with knowledge about Crain is asked to call the sheriff’s office at 928-753-0753.
Golden Valley is about 160 miles west of Flagstaff.
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