DNA helps identify remains found in Mendocino County in 2012

Authorities said the man was identified through DNA.

Human remains discovered in Mendocino County in 2012 have been identified as those of a Washington resident who was last seen in 1986, authorities said Monday.

The crime lab identified the remains of Warren David Hawkins through DNA reconstruction and comparison and genealogical research.

Hawkins was last seen in July 1986, when his mother dropped him off at a bus station.

His shallow grave was discovered in 2012 in Piercy, a small community on the south fork of the Eel River, Mendocino sheriff’s Capt. Quincy Cromer said in a news release Monday.

Hawkins was 21 years old when he went missing.

He was identified through family connections discovered by Othram, a Texas lab that helps solve cases by completing DNA profiles through genome sequencing.

Authorities discovered most of Hawkins’ remains in 2012, after a bystander found his grave in the 83000 block of Highway 271 on the morning of October 30.

Detectives had to kayak a quarter-mile to the scene.

Forensic anthropologists from California State University, Chico then excavated and preserved the headless skeleton. The body, which appeared to have been there “for a long time,” was dressed in 1980s-style clothing.

After repeated attempts to identify the body, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office sent evidence to Othram last spring, where a genetic genealogy team found links to the Hawkins family.

The Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office in Washington took DNA samples from Hawkins’ sister, Paula Hawkins, who reported her brother missing to the same agency, and sent them to Othram. Cowlitz County is approximately 60 miles north of Portland, Ore.

The lab confirmed Hawkins’ identity through his sister’s DNA, Cromer told The Press Democrat on Monday.

The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate Hawkins’ murder.

The agency asks anyone with information on this case to call the dispatch center at 707-463-4086.

Staff writer Madison Smalstig can be reached at [email protected]. On X (Twitter) @madi.smals.