A person whose identification had remained a thriller since his loss of life over 20 years in the past has now been lastly recognized, due to groundbreaking genealogy strategies.
The person was discovered alive however unconscious on the sidewalk of Third Avenue and West Madison Avenue in Phoenix in August 2004. He was taken to an area hospital, the place he died of warmth publicity, however medics and police on the time have been unable to discern his identify and no subsequent of kin got here ahead.
He was 6 toes 2 inches tall, had scars on his stomach and forearms, and was estimated to be between 30 and 55 years previous.
The Phoenix Police Division adopted the usual strategy of identification — getting into fingerprints and a DNA pattern into police databases — however had no success for many years.
Nevertheless, after a sequence of specialist family tree labs collaborated with authorities on the John Doe case, two residing third cousins have been recognized, and the person has been confirmed as John Thiellesen.
Based on police in Toledo, Ohio, who appealed for info on his whereabouts as recently as 2023, Thiellesen was reported lacking there by his brother in 2004. Police stated Thiellesen suffered from psychological well being issues and known as his sister to say he had “cleansed himself” and was planning on leaping right into a river.
It is unclear how he ended up in Phoenix.
The breakthrough in figuring out Thiellesen got here after the health worker in Maricopa County referred the case to the Ramapo Faculty Investigative Genetic Family tree Middle in New Jersey in September 2024.
From there, a blood pattern was despatched to genomic researchers at Genelogue in Georgia, after which to Parabon Nanolabs in Virginia, for bioinformatics analysis.
The ensuing genotype was uploaded to DNA databases, and undergraduates and employees at Ramapo searched in useless for a match.
Then, between the final day of the semester and the winter break, the employees discovered the cousins and Christen Eggers, senior medicolegal loss of life investigator within the Maricopa County Workplace of the Medical Examiner, confirmed it was Thiellesen.
Eggers stated in an announcement that the school’s work “has grow to be a beacon of hope for people and households throughout the nation” whose family members have gone lacking.
“This case showcases the ability of investigative genetic family tree to shut longstanding lacking individuals instances,” Cairenn Binder, assistant director of the IGG Middle at Ramapo, stated. “Each John and Jane Doe is the reply to a household lacking a liked one, and we are going to proceed to do every part in our energy to maintain restoring their names and offering these solutions.”
The IGG heart has helped remedy 28 instances and is currently working on 39 others.
