Human remains found in Arizona in 2009 have been identified as those of a missing Michigan man

MOHAVE COUNTY, Az. (WPBN/WGTU) — Human bones found near the Hoover Dam in 2009 have been identified as those of a Michigan man last seen by family members in 1995.

Investigators identified the remains as William Herman Hietamaki, who was born in 1950 and whose family lived in Trout Creek.

In November 2009, workers pouring cement on Highway 93 took a break near Milepost 3 near the Hoover Dam and found human bones, According to Mohave County Sheriff’s Office.

Construction workers and National Park Service agents managed to recover “more bones, a sun-faded pair of blue jeans, a worn-out white towel, a sun-faded red T-shirt, a black athletic shoe and a green sleeping bag,” he added. the sheriff’s office said.

All recovered items were turned over to the county medical examiner’s office, but the case was closed and no traces were left.

The sheriff’s office said medical examiners are unsure of the cause of death due to the condition of the remains, but estimate the person died sometime between 2006 and 2008.

Efforts to identify John Doe resumed in 2022, and a bone sample was sent to the University of North Texas “where an extracted DNA sample was collected and stored for analysis and identification purposes,” the sheriff’s office said. Ultimately, these efforts yielded negative results.

In April 2024, investigators with the sheriff’s office Special Investigations Unit were notified by Othram Inc.genetic laboratory in Texas that in this case they received a grant to cover the costs of genealogical research.

This month, SIU investigators received a report that showed the remains belonged to “an ancestral descendant born in the mid-19th century and residing in Michigan,” the sheriff’s office said.

Investigators began searching for possible relatives in Michigan and eventually interviewed Hietamaki’s siblings, who said they had not seen him since 1995 and that he had been traveling in the southwestern United States.

“Reference testing performed on these relatives confirmed that the unidentified remains of John Doe were Hietamaki,” the sheriff’s office said.

The sheriff’s office said Hietamaki “was known to hitchhike to various locations and led a nomadic lifestyle.”

The sheriff’s office said Hietamaki was last seen by family members when he visited his sister in New Mexico in 1995, and public records indicate he once lived in Las Vegas. He also suffered from epileptic attacks.

“The Mohave County Sheriff would like to thank Othram Inc. for their work on this case and for obtaining grants to facilitate the completion of forensic genetic genealogy testing,” the sheriff’s office said.