In a breakthrough after decades of mystery, forensic tests have successfully identified the remains of a man who was last seen alive in 1998. This identification comes 26 years after these remains were initially found in a sleeping bag tucked away in the remote expanses of Washington state’s Olympic National Park.
The man, identified as Joseph Louis Serrao Jr., hailed from Hawaii and had been residing in Washington before he vanished, according to his family. They shared this information with Othram, the forensic laboratory that collaborated with National Park Service investigators to finally resolve this long-standing case. Serrao’s family reported they had not had any contact with him since 1998.
Fast forward two years to July 2000, when a researcher stumbled upon human skeletal remains in a secluded section of Olympic National Park, near the Sol Duc River, as stated by the National Park Service. These remains were discovered inside a sleeping bag within a tent, accompanied by various items including binoculars, a day hiker pack, a shoulder bag, a folding saw, a blanket, and winter gear, detailed both by the park service and the forensic lab.
At the time of discovery, a pathologist from Washington’s King County medical examiner’s office estimated the remains belonged to a man aged between 30 and 50, who had likely died between six months to two years prior. Investigators later determined that Serrao, born in December 1960, would have been in his late 30s at the time of his death. However, the absence of “usable” fingerprints and other definitive evidence initially hindered authorities from making progress in identifying him.
Investigators eventually learned that Serrao, who was born in December 1960, would have been in his late 30s at the time of his death. But, back then, the lack of “usable” fingerprints and other concrete evidence prevented authorities from developing leads that might have helped them uncover his identity.
His name remained unknown until recently. A breakthrough came once an anthropologist with the medical examiner’s office submitted a DNA sample to Othram in 2024, according to the park service, which investigated Serrao’s case alongside King County authorities and the laboratory. Using forensic genealogy — a technique that can help pinpoint living relatives of a deceased person based on the decedent’s DNA — the lab was able to identify possible family members by 2025.
Investigators reached out to relatives in multiple states, including Hawaii, and eventually compared and matched DNA samples from them to the one taken from Serrao’s remains.
“This case remained unresolved for nearly 30 years, but investigators never lost sight of the goal of identifying this individual and finding answers for his family,” Debra Flowers, deputy chief of the park service’s criminal investigative division, said in a statement. “I’m proud of the persistence and collaboration that made this identification possible, and I hope it brings some measure of closure to those who have spent so many years wondering what happened to Joseph.”Â