Posted on: October 30, 2024, 08:19h.
Last updated on: October 30, 2024, 08:19h.
The partial corpse discovered 15 years ago near the Hoover Dam turns out to be a missing Michigan native who once lived in Las Vegas.
After extensive testing and dedicated investigative work, authorities revealed this week that the man was William Herman Hietamaki.
The incident began on November 11, 2009. Construction crews were assigned to pour cement as part of a project to widen Highway 93 near the dam, which is near the Nevada and Arizona border.
While on a brief break on the highway, a worker spotted a bone. Workers searched the area and saw additional bones. They appeared to be from a human being.
The workers alerted a supervisor who in turn contacted authorities with the National Park Service. In addition, a police officer who was directing traffic at the construction site alerted a local sheriff’s office.
During a more extensive search, more bones were found. So were a sun-bleached pair of blue jeans, a towel, a sun-bleached red t-shirt, a black athletic shoe, and a green sleeping bag, according to Arizona’s Mohave County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO).
The remains and other evidence were taken to the Mohave County Medical Examiner’s Office for an exam and autopsy.
For years, the identity of the person remained a mystery.
But on February 2, 2022, an MCSO detective requested and received part of a bone.
Bone Samples Tested
The sample was sent to an Arizona Department of Public Safety lab. Lab staff tested the bone for DNA traces.
The hunch was that lab staff may be able to identify the person using online data in the COmbined DNA Index System, better known as CODIS. Another sample was sent to researchers at the University of North Texas (UNT). University staff were able to obtain a DNA sample. But those attempts failed to provide the name of the man.
But things didn’t stop there. In April 2024, Othram Inc., a genetic lab in Texas, was able to get a grant to pay for a sophisticated process known as forensic genetic genealogy (FGG).
Lab staff was able to create a DNA profile from the bone sample. The data was compared to content listed in a genealogy database.
Mystery Man Linked to Michigan
Then, earlier this month, the mystery man was found to be a descendant of people who had lived in Michigan during the 1800s.
That discovery allowed investigators to identify possible relatives of the man. They were interviewed. The relatives revealed that their brother, Hietamaki, hadn’t been seen since 1995. They last heard he was travelling in the Southwest.
By using samples provided by the relatives, lab personnel were able to confirm the remains were those of Hietamaki.
Since then, it was revealed that Hietamaki, known by friends as Herman, was born on April 4, 1950. He and his family lived in and around Trout Creek, Mich. He attended high school and later a school to prepare him for a mechanic’s career.
Rather than stay in Michigan, he began to travel in different parts of the US.
He was known to hitchhike to various locations and lived a nomadic lifestyle,” according to a recent Facebook post from the MCSO.
Hietamaki was last seen by relatives when he visited a sister in New Mexico in 1995. He was known to have once lived in Las Vegas.
Even though medical examiner staff conducted numerous tests, they were unable to identify a cause of death due to the condition of the bones. It was known he had epilepsy.
It also was confirmed he passed away between 2006 and 2008. But how and why he died remains a mystery.
