Human bones found near Hoover Dam 15 years ago belonged to a Michigan man

MOHAVE COUNTY, Arizona. – Human bones found 15 years ago by workers pouring cement near the Hoover Dam have finally been identified as those of a Michigan man.

Bones discovered

This story dates back to November 11, 2009. Workers were contracted to pour cement for a project to widen Highway 93 in Arizona.

They took a break at mile three near Hoover Dam. According to the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office, while they were standing on the west side of the highway, one of the workers saw what appeared to be a bone.

Two men walked around the area and found more bones. They thought they looked like human bones, so they told their supervisor.

When the supervisor called National Park Service agents, the traffic enforcement officer called sheriff’s office deputies.

Agents and construction workers searched the area further and found more bones, a sun-faded pair of jeans, a worn-out white towel, a sun-faded red T-shirt, one black shoe and a green sleeping bag, officials said.

Days later, during another search, authorities said they found more remains.

All items were sent to the Mohave County Medical Examiner’s Office, but despite an investigation that took years, no match was found.

DNA tests fail

The detective received one of the bone samples from the medical examiner on February 2, 2022, and sent it to the DPS laboratory in Arizona to obtain a DNA profile. He wanted to report it to the Combined DNA Index System to identify the person.

Another sample was sent to the University of North Texas, where the extracted DNA sample was stored for analysis and identification purposes.

However, this person has still not been identified.

Funding the case

In April 2024, investigators learned that a genetics lab in Texas had received a grant to pay for forensic genealogy testing in the case.

An extract of the sample from the University of North Texas was sent to a laboratory to create a DNA profile and submit it to a genealogy database.

Ancestors identified

Earlier this month (October 2024), investigators learned that the bones belonged to a person descended from ancestors born in the mid-1800s and living in Michigan.

Officials interviewed potential relatives and learned they had not seen their brother, William Herman Hietamaki, since he visited his sister in New Mexico in 1995.

The last his siblings knew, Hietamaki was traveling throughout the southwestern United States.

Positive identification

As a result of those conversations, officials conducted reference tests on Hietamaka’s siblings, which confirmed that his remains were found in 2009, according to authorities.

Hietamaki was born on April 4, 1950 and lived with his family in the Trout Creek area of ​​Michigan.

He attended high school in Michigan and after graduating went to mechanical school.

He left the state to travel. Hietamaki was known for hitchhiking and pursuing a “nomadic driving style,” officials said.

Doctors were unable to determine the cause of death, but they believe he died sometime between 2006 and 2008.