Michael Wayne Mest’s remains have finally been identified, more than nine years after his body’s remains found in the Camp Verde area on May 25, 2015.
The identification was announced on July 28 by Othram, a private forensic laboratory based in The Woodlands, Texas, that works with law enforcement agencies across the United States and internationally.
“We work to build DNA profiles and use technology that is developed by our company that ultimately allows people to be identified. And we work on cases with John Does, those cases of people who die without their name being known,” Othram Chief of Staff Colby Lasyone said. “We also help to identify the suspects of crimes where there’s some violent crime and DNA is left behind. We can also assist in cases where there’s an exoneration. If you have DNA or evidence from which we can extract DNA, we can help to identify who that DNA belongs to.”
Lasyone pointed to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, a federal database that lists more than 15,000 unidentified individuals. However, he noted that not all John Doe and Jane Doe cases in the U.S. are included, so the actual number is likely much higher.
“We’re passionate about removing this backlog. It’s a huge burden for medical examiners and coroners,” Lasyone said. “All these remains are kept for [decades], and the tools and the technology are here to identify those people. … Then you have the unsolved crime problem, of which, there are hundreds of thousands of unsolved violent crimes in the United States.”
Mest’s remains were “found next to Verde River, under a tree,” in Camp Verde, reads his case file #UP52930 on NamUS. The film also notes the advanced decomposition of his 5’10” frame rendered him “not recognizable.” The remains were estimated to be between 40 and 75 years old — Mest was around 50 at the time his remains were located.
The Yavapai Apache Police Department was the investigating agency.
Among the items recovered were two brown, Merrell brand hiking-style boots with blue cloth accents, size 13; a brown and black Jeans brand alligator-print belt for a 36-inch waist; a pair of Tag Heuer brand long underwear, size XL; two dark-colored socks with holes in the soles; a pair of Riders brand pants and two light-colored socks.
The Yavapai County Office of the Medical Examiner submitted skeletal evidence to Othram in December 2023 for forensic analysis. The case was funded through NamUs, which has monies to allow for the identification of unknown remains, and Othram provided the forensic genetic genealogy support.
“In [Mest’s] case, we took the skeletal remains into our bone extraction area. We remove as small an amount of bone as possible to be minimally disruptive to the individual’s remains. We then process that bone and ultimately extract DNA from it. We call this entire set of procedures in our lab that results in the DNA profile ‘forensic-grade genome sequencing.’
Forensic-grade genome sequencing, or FGGS, consists of specifically designed protocols to extract DNA of the highest quality possible and subject it to our quality control processes to ensure it’s suitable for the development of a DNA profile.”
From there, Mest’s DNA was uploaded into a genealogical database, where investigators compare the unknown person’s DNA against a database of people that consented to allow law enforcement to use their information to solve this type of case.
“During this investigation, [the former] John Doe’s potential brother was identified,” Othram’s crowdfunding website DNASolves.com reads. “Unfortunately, the man’s potential brother was killed in a hit-and-run accident in South Carolina in April 2020.
Following the hit-and-run accident, the Oconee Coroner’s Office in Seneca, S.C., had preserved a dried blood sample from the deceased man to maintain a record of his identity. The Coroner’s Office provided a portion of that card to Othram so that KinSNP Rapid Relationship Testing could be performed.”
“This comparison confirmed a biological relationship and the unidentified man in Arizona is now identified as Michael Wayne Mest, who was born on Aug. 9, 1964,” the DNASolves website reads. “Mest was born and raised in Kentucky and was known to be living in Tucson in 1999. He was known to be in Camp Verde in 2010 and 2012.”
