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- Remains found at Hoover Dam 15 years have been identified ago as William Herman Hietamaki.
- Hietamaki, from Michigan, was visiting New Mexico when he disappeared in the 1990s.
- Forensic genetic genealogy by Othram Inc. helped confirm his identity, providing closure to his family.
BOULDER CITY, Nevada — Authorities have identified human remains that were found at the Hoover Dam 15 years ago as a Michigan man who was visiting family in New Mexico at the time of his death.
On Nov. 11, 2009, cement contractors working on U.S. 93 near the Hoover Dam spotted a bone. The two men then searched the area and located additional bones believed to be human, according to the Mohave County Sheriff's Office.
An additional search with National Park Service agents recovered a sun-bleached pair of blue jeans, a damaged white towel, a sun-bleached red T-shirt, a black athletic shoe, a green sleeping bag and more bones.
The investigation was turned over to the Mohave County medical examiner. Many detectives continued the investigation over the years, but no results came.
In 2022, a bone sample from the remains was submitted to the Arizona Department of Public Safety for scientific examination. A sample was also sent to the University of North Texas, where an extracted DNA sample was obtained and analyzed. Both attempts to identify the remains were unsuccessful.
In April, the Mohave County's Special Investigations Unit was notified of a grant it received to pay for forensic genetic genealogy by Othram Inc., a genetic lab in Texas. The sample at the University of North Texas was sent to Othram to create a DNA profile, which was then uploaded to a genealogy database.
This month, the Mohave investigators received a report indicating the remains were from a descendant of ancestors born in the mid-1800s who resided in Michigan. Possible relatives of the remains were located and interviewed which led to the discovery that a man named William Herman Hietamaki had not been seen since 1995.
Hietamaki was the brother of the descendants police interviewed. He had been traveling in the southwest area of the country to visit his sister in New Mexico when he went missing.
"Reference testing conducted on these relatives confirmed that the John Doe unidentified remains were Hietamaki," the Mohave County Sheriff's Office said.
Hietamaki was born on April 4, 1950. He lived in the Trout Creek, Michigan, area and went by his middle name, Herman. After high school, he started traveling, lived a nomadic lifestyle and was known to hitchhike, the sheriff's office said.
Public records showed he lived in Las Vegas at one point.
Hietamaki suffered from epileptic seizures, but the medical examiner "was unable to determine his cause of death due to the state of his remains," the sheriff's office said. His death is estimated to have been more than 18 years ago, between 2006 and 2008.
The Mohave County Sheriff's Office said Hietamaki's family now has closure, thanks to Othram Inc.'s efforts in identifying various John and Jane Does.
