TAMPA, Fla. – The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Unit, working alongside the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner’s Office and forensic genetic genealogy specialists, has identified three men whose remains were discovered in separate cases between 2005 and 2012.
Investigators reopened all three cases in 2025, using updated DNA technology and genetic genealogy research to trace family connections and resolve the long-standing unidentified decedent files.
The earliest case dates back to Sept. 23, 2005, when deputies found the decomposed body of a man inside the sleeper compartment of a tractor-trailer at American Used Truck Parts in Tampa. Initial attempts to identify him failed, and a profile uploaded to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) yielded no matches…