In August 1999, a man was found deceased by the housekeeping staff at a motel in Reno, Nevada. The man’s motel room was registered to a fictitious name. Authorities responded and began investigating. While investigators were able to rule out foul play, they were unable to identify the man, who was estimated to be between 50 to 60 years old, about 5′ 5″ tall, and weighed 137 pounds. The man had blue eyes, a mustache, and brown curly hair with gray roots.
Despite an extensive investigation, the man could not be identified, and he became known as Washoe County John Doe (1999). Details of the man’s case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP7633 in August 2010.
In May 2025, the Washoe County Regional Medical Examiner’s Office once again partnered with Othram in The Woodlands, Texas to determine if advanced DNA testing could help identify the man. Washoe County Regional Medical Examiner’s Office and Othram have previously collaborated on numerous prior investigations. Othram scientists successfully developed a DNA extract from the provided evidence and used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing to build a comprehensive DNA profile. Othram’s in-house forensic genetic genealogy team then performed a genealogical search using this profile, developing new investigative leads that were returned to the Washoe County Regional Medical Examiner’s Office…