DEKALB COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) – A set of human remains found in DeKalb County in the 1990s has been identified according to the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office.
In December of 1991, skeletal remains of a John Doe were found by a hunter in a wooded area near County Road 51. Despite the many efforts taken to identify him, Sheriff Nick Weldon said it remained a mystery.
The John Doe was identified as Rainbow King of Tompkinville, Kentucky.
The sheriff’s office was contacted by the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office in late 2022 to tell DCSO that Olivia McCarter, a genealogy analyst, was proposing using investigative genetic genealogy to try and identify John Doe.
Welden said in 2023, DNA samples were taken from the remains and sent to Intermountain Forensics, a non-profit lab in Utah, for analysis and whole-genome sequencing. The DNA was studied by McCarter and team, which eventually brought up a familial match identifying King.
“Further investigation and coordination with living relatives of Rainbow King confirmed the identity,” DCSO added. “Chief Investigator Priscilla Padgett and Investigations Assistant Andrea Woodall traveled to Tompkinsville, Kentucky, accompanied by Monroe County Sheriff Dale Ford, to meet with the King family. A DNA sample collected during the meeting conclusively confirmed that the skeletal remains belonged to 22-year-old Rainbow Canyon King.”
Sheriff Welden thanked all of the agencies and experts involved in making the discovery. He added that it shows the importance of “innovative forensic techniques in resolving cold cases and providing closure to families.”
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