MOHAVE COUNTY, Ariz. — Human remains found in Mohave County over 40 years ago have been recently identified as a California man who was in search of gold.
The Mohave County Sheriff's Office announced this week that advanced DNA testing has managed to identify a set of human remains that had long been known simply as John Doe.
The remains were located in the desert area around Kingman in September 1982. Alongside the human remains were a rusty can-opener, nail clippers, a toothbrush, a hair comb, and some clothing.
The identity of the deceased man had remained unknown for decades until MCSO investigators sent a DNA sample to a Texas laboratory that used forensic genetic testing to identify the remains as Virgil R. Renner of Humboldt County, Calif.
Investigators learned Renner, who was born in 1910, had left California in the early 1970s in search of gold in Nevada. It's not known how or why he ended up in Arizona.
MCSO said Renner likely died sometime between 1979 and 1981. A cause of death could not be determined. Renner wasn't married and had no known children.
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