The Ohio Attorney General’s Office, the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office, and the County Executive announced on Wednesday that forensic DNA evidence has been used to identify a John Doe as a man who has been missing for 45 years.
You can watch the entire news conference below:
John Doe identified as man missing since 1980
According to authorities, Danny Lee Mitchell was 20 years old when he was reported missing from Cleveland on April 2, 1980. He was last seen heading to a bar in the 6300 block of Euclid Avenue and had not been seen since.
The skeletal remains of a John Doe were found on May 17, 1980, close to where Mitchell was reported missing, but at the time, investigators weren’t able to identify the man because DNA wasn’t something being used to solve cases back then, authorities said.
There were no signs of injury on the man’s body, and due to the state of decomposition, nothing at the time positively pointed to the remains belonging to Mitchell. No cause of death was ever identified, and the manner of death was left undetermined, authorities said…