Remains found by hunter in remote area of Nevada ID’d 40 years later, officials say
Nearly 40 years after a hunter found remains in a remote area of Nevada, they’ve been identified, officials say.
Using forensic genetic genealogy, the remains found in Reno were identified as Robert Smithcamp, who would have been 46 at the time of his death, the Washoe County Regional Medical Examiner’s Office said in a May 1 news release.
When the remains were found in November 1984, there were several items nearby, “including a Holiday Hotel/Casino Keno ticket stamped with the date 05/04/1982, combs, can openers, and four pennies with a date of 1980,” Othram Inc., a forensic genetic genealogy company that helped identify the remains, said in a news release.
A pink blanket was also near the body, which was found at what looked like a campsite near Tracy Clark Power Station, Othram said.
The medical examiner’s office said a forensic pathologist examined the remains, however, a cause and manner of death could not be determined given the remain’s “severe skeletonization.”
Detectives determined the remains, which were “were partially charred by a fire in the area in July 1983,” belonged to a man between the ages of 35 and 45, the company said.
A dental autopsy showed the man had recently undergone a dental procedure, Othram said.
More than two decades after the remains were found, Othram said the case was entered in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System in 2008.
Despite ongoing investigation, Othram said law enforcement was not able to identify the man, “and the case went cold.”
Then, in 2023, investigators turned their efforts to investigative genetic genealogy.
Genetic genealogy uses DNA testing coupled with “traditional genealogical methods” to create “family history profiles,” according to the Library of Congress. With genealogical DNA testing, researchers can determine if and how people are biologically related.
After the medical examiner’s office sent DNA evidence to Othram, the company said its scientists worked to create “a comprehensive DNA profile for the unidentified man.”
The profile was then uploaded to “consumer genealogical databases,” the medical examiner’s office said.
“This analysis provided a lead to a family member who had taken an at-home genetic test,” the medical examiner’s office said.
The medical examiner’s office and Othram contacted the family, who provided a DNA sample, leading to the remains being identified as Smithcamp.
“We are thankful to be able to identify Mr. Smithcamp and give his family closure after nearly 40 years,” Laura D. Knight, the county’s chief medical examiner and coroner, said in the release.
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