Human remains found in sleeping bag in national park identified 26 years later
Human remains found in sleeping bag in national park identified 26 years later
Forensic tests have helped identify the remains of a man last seen in 1998, officials said. The tests were conducted 26 years after the remains were first discovered in a sleeping bag in the backcountry of Washington state’s Olympic National Park.
Joseph Louis Serrao Jr. was originally from Hawaii and had been in Washington prior to going missing, his family told Othram, the forensic laboratory that helped National Park Service investigators solve his case. The family said they had not heard from him since 1998.
About two years later, in July 2000, a researcher discovered human skeletal remains in a remote part of Olympic National Park, along the Sol Duc River, the National Park Service said. The sleeping bag in which the remains were found was inside a tent, and discovered with it were multiple items, including binoculars, a day hiker pack, a shoulder bag, a folding saw, a blanket and winter gear, according to the park service and the laboratory.
At the time, a pathologist from the medical examiner’s office in Washington’s King County determined the remains likely belonged to a man between the ages of 30 and 50, who had died at least six months and up to two years earlier.
Investigators eventually learned that Serrao, who was born in December 1960, would have been in his late 30s at the time of his death. But, back then, the lack of “usable” fingerprints and other concrete evidence prevented authorities from developing leads that might have helped them uncover his identity.
His name remained unknown until recently. A breakthrough came once an anthropologist with the medical examiner’s office submitted a DNA sample to Othram in 2024, according to the park service, which investigated Serrao’s case alongside King County authorities and the laboratory. Using forensic genealogy — a technique that can help pinpoint living relatives of a deceased person based on the decedent’s DNA — the lab was able to identify possible family members by 2025.
Investigators reached out to relatives in multiple states, including Hawaii, and eventually compared and matched DNA samples from them to the one taken from Serrao’s remains.
“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,” Debra Flowers, deputy chief of the park service’s criminal investigative division, said in a statement. “I’m proud of the persistence and collaboration that made this identification possible, and I hope it brings some measure of closure to those who have spent so many years wondering what happened to Joseph.”
Lewis Shaw, from Slough, is in police custody ahead of a court appearance in July.
The prime minister was keen in a BBC interview to erect the highest bar he could to any wannabe successors triggering a leadership contest.
One charity said it is leaving some vacant roles unfilled to reduce costs.
A round-up of stories from local newspapers and the BBC from the past week in the West of England.
Noughts & Crosses author Malorie Blackman and Gruffalo creator Julia Donaldson are made dames, as the rugby league star is knighted.
The University of Nottingham has apologised to those affected for “any anxiety” caused.
Charnwood Borough Council says the construction of the Shelthorpe estate began in 1926.
Here are some stories that you may have missed from Devon and Cornwall this week.
Portsmouth City Council created the international port in 1976.
It comes after a number of centres were temporarily shut due to suspicious or dangerous items.
Medical tattooists say they are frustrated with images of nipple tattoos consistently being mistakenly flagged.
A look at some of our uplifting stories, including the success of the Rik Mayall comedy festival.
Raise the Colours as well as a counter-protest group are planning to gather in the city centre.
The masonic hall developer in Bishop Auckland says the issue with progress is a lack of funds.
Thousands of people are set to visit Cardiff for the annual Pride Cymru festival.
A section of the River Breamish is to have the structures which have confined it removed.
Eleri Williams started out selling her dad’s old football shirts and has just opened her own shop.
President Donald Trump’s name remained on the facade of the Kennedy Center early Saturday despite a court-ordered Friday deadline to remove references to Trump from the building and other aspects of the iconic performing arts venue’s operations. Scaffolding was erected Friday around a section of the building that includes Trump’s name, but shortly after midnight, the Kennedy Center asked a judge to extend the deadline until noon Eastern Time on Saturday because of thunderstorms that had swept through the Washington area, causing a delay. In the filing, the Kennedy Center offered assurance that the “removal work is presently ongoing” and would “conclude in the early hours of the morning.”
After missing a deadline to comply with a federal judge’s ruling to remove President Donald Trump’s name from the Kennedy Center, the historic performing arts center is asking for additional time to carry out his directive.
On board the Iberia Airways flight taking Pope Leo XIV from Tenerife back to Rome, the captain made an announcement. A technical problem had been discovered, and the plane wasn’t able to take off. Moments later the pope and some of his entourage left the aircraft.
Powered by WPeMatico