Investigators have identified human skeletal remains found inside a sleeping bag and tent in a remote area of Olympic National Park, resolving a case that went unsolved for decades.
The remains were discovered by a researcher along the Sol Duc River in a remote part of the park, with items including binoculars, a day hiker pack, a shoulder bag, a folding saw, a blanket and winter gear found nearby.
A pathologist with the King County medical examiner's office originally estimated the remains belonged to a man between 30 and 50 years old and that death occurred at least six months and possibly up to two years earlier, but usable fingerprints and other evidence were lacking.
Forensic Genealogy And Family Contact
An anthropologist from the medical examiner's office submitted a DNA sample to the forensic laboratory Othram, which used forensic genealogy to search for living relatives, and the lab identified possible family members the following year.
Investigators contacted relatives in multiple states, including Hawaii, and compared DNA from living family members with the sample taken from the remains, resulting in a match that identified the man as Joseph Louis Serrao Jr, who would have been in his late 30s at the time of death.
The family told Othram that Serrao was originally from Hawaii and that they had not heard from him since the late 1990s. Debra Flowers, deputy chief of the National Park Service criminal investigative division, said, "This case remained unresolved for nearly 30 years, but investigators never lost sight of the goal of identifying this individual and finding answers for his family."
Authorities have not announced a cause or manner of death, and those questions remain unresolved as investigators complete their review of the case.
