Marine’s Remains Identified Decades After Discovery in Child’s Rock Collection

A jawbone found in Arizona by a child collecting rocks has been identified as belonging to a Marine who perished in a 1951 training accident. The discovery, initially made in 2002, went unresolved for years until advanced genetic genealogy techniques recently confirmed the remains to be those of Capt. Everett Leland Yager. The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office had held onto the bone until last year when it was sent to the Ramapo College Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center in New Jersey for further analysis.

Traditional DNA testing methods had previously failed to yield any results, leaving the bone’s origin a mystery until the involvement of the genealogy center. The team at Ramapo College utilized cutting-edge genome sequencing and bioinformatics to develop a genetic profile of the remains, leading to the eventual identification. This breakthrough underscores the evolving capabilities of forensic science and genetic genealogy in solving cold cases.

The Journey of the Remains

The circumstances of how Capt. Yager’s jawbone ended up in Arizona remain speculative, but experts believe it could have been transported by a bird from the California training accident site where Yager originally died. This peculiar journey highlights the often unpredictable nature of how human remains can be displaced from their original locations. Capt. Yager’s remains had been officially collected and buried by his family in Missouri after the accident, making the discovery in Arizona even more unexpected.

The identification process gained momentum when the bone was analyzed by students and researchers at Ramapo College as part of a summer boot camp. This educational initiative not only provided valuable real-world experience to the students but also played a crucial role in solving this decades-old mystery. The successful identification came swiftly once the students took over the case, finding a potential match within just two days.

The final confirmation of the jawbone’s identity was made when Yager’s daughter provided a DNA sample last month, which matched the genetic profile developed from the jawbone, confirming a parent-child relationship. This poignant outcome offers closure to the family, allowing them to finally reunite with the remains of their loved one. The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office plans to return the remains to Yager’s family, bringing an end to the long journey of Capt. Yager’s lost remnant.