Latest news with #SanMateoCountyCoroner'sOffice
Miami Herald
26-05-2025
- Miami Herald
Remains found in 1985 ID'd as man last seen leaving for work, CA officials say
Three decades after human remains were found in a rural California area, they've been identified as those of a missing man, coroner officials say. With the help of DNA testing, the remains were identified as Brian Edward Jones, who was 20 when he was reported missing out of San Jose, the San Mateo County Coroner's Office said in a May 22 news release. His partial human remains 'were found in an undeveloped area of Menlo Park' on April 15, 1985, officials said. The man's case went cold, and his identity remained a mystery. Then, decades later, the coroner's office said they reopened the case in hopes of using DNA testing to identify the remains. 'Records back (in 1985) weren't well documented so it takes a lot of work for my staff to do a lot of research and backtracking,' Coroner Robert Foucrault told the San Mateo Daily Journal. In this case, the team worked to locate where the remains were buried to collect a DNA sample. Officials said they worked with a Colma cemetery and the sheriff's office to have the man's remains exhumed. The coroner's office said they then sent a DNA sample to the California Department of Justice, which created a DNA profile for the unknown man that was submitted to the Combined DNA Index System, officials said. CODIS is 'a computer software program that operates local, state, and national databases of DNA profiles from convicted offenders, unsolved crime scene evidence, and missing persons,' according to federal prosecutors. A potential match was found in CODIS from a DNA sample submitted in 2016 for a missing persons case, officials said. While the initial testing showed 'moderate support' that the unknown man was related to the person, additional testing 'provided strong evidence' that the two were related, officials said. With 'this DNA comparison,' officials said they identified the remains as Jones. Family last saw Jones alive as he left for work in December 1984, officials said. The coroner's office said they notified Jones' family of his identification May 20. 'I think for the families, it's relief,' Foucrault told the San Mateo Daily Journal. 'For my staff that worked on it, it's a job well done because they've put closure on a case for someone's loved one that's been missing for a long time.' Menlo Park is about a 30-mile drive southeast from San Francisco.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Yahoo
Menlo Park John Doe identified after 40 years
MENLO PARK, Calif. - Authorities have identified the remains of a man found in Menlo Park in 1985 as 20-year-old Brian Edward Jones. What we know Jones was last seen alive by his family while leaving for work in December 1984. Officials with San Mateo County's Coroner's Office said Jones was a San Jose resident. The 20-year-old's remains were discovered in a part of Menlo Park that was undeveloped on April 15, 1985. Dig deeper On Oct. 26, 2023, Jones' remains were exhumed by the San Mateo County Coroner's Office, and DNA was submitted to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), a database maintained by the FBI to assist state and local law enforcement agencies in solving crimes. A routine search of CODIS yielded a potential biological relationship between Jones' remains and a sample submitted during a missing person report taken in 2016, officials said. Officials did more testing and last month, the coroner's office learned the comparison strongly showed a familial relationship between the sample and Jones' remains. The San Mateo County Coroner's Office informed Jones' next of kin about the positive identification on Tuesday. What we don't know It's unclear how Jones died. Authorities didn't say if foul play is suspected in his death or if they opened an investigation. KTVU reached out to the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office and Coroner's Office for more information but did not hear back in time for this report. The Source The San Mateo County Coroner's Office, California Office of the Attorney General
