Human Remains Found Near Hoover Dam in 2009 Identified as 'Nomadic' Man Last Seen by His Family in 1995

Mar. 15, 2025

William Herman Hietamaki, whose remains were found in 2009, nearly 15 years after he disappeared.Photo:Mohave County Sheriff’s Office/ Facebook

Mohave County Sheriff’s Office/ Facebook

In February 2022, an MCSO detective sent in a bone sample they obtained from the Medical Examiner’s Office to a lab in Arizona, requesting a DNA profile. At the same time, another sample was given to the University of North Texas. However, those attempts were also unsuccessful.

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Two years later, things began to change when investigators assigned to the MCSO’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) learned “they had received grant funding to pay for Forensic Genetic Genealogy (FGG) in this case.”

The UNT sample was then “sent to the Othram Lab,” where “a DNA profile was created and uploaded to a genealogy database.”

Earlier this month, investigators received a report indicating that the John Doe “was a descendant of ancestors born in the mid-1800’s and residing in Michigan.”

“Reference testing conducted on these relatives confirmed that the John Doe unidentified remains were Hietamaki,” police added.

The sheriff’s office said the medical examiner’s office has been unable to determine Hietamaki’s cause of death “due to the state of his remains.”

However, he appears to have died between 2006 and 2008, according to police.

“The Mohave County Sheriff’s would like to thank Othram Inc. for their work in this case and for obtaining grant funding to enable the forensic genetic genealogy investigation to be completed,” the sheriff’s office said in its news release. “Hietamaki’s family now has closure due to their dedication.”

source: people.com