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    • Missing Michigan man identified by bones found near Hoover Dam
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    Missing Michigan man identified by bones found near Hoover Dam

    Online Niel Posted on

    Authorities in Arizona recently identified a missing Michigan man through bones discovered near Hoover Dam 15 years ago.

    The Mohave County Sheriff’s Office learned in October that the bones found by construction workers on Highway 93 belonged to William Herman Hietamaki, of Trout Creek, in the inner city, according to a news release this week.

    The man’s family in the western Upper Peninsula had not seen him since 1995.

    The sheriff’s office investigated the discovered human bones, which construction workers found at Milepost 3 on Nov. 11, 2009, according to the statement.

    Two construction workers taking a break from pouring cement on the highway saw a bone, notified a supervisor, and recovered more bones, a green sleeping bag, a black sneaker, a damaged white towel, and blue jeans sun-bleached and red-shirted, officials said.

    A detective sent a bone sample from the medical examiner’s office to the Arizona Department of Public Safety Laboratory in 2022.

    The sheriff’s office also sent a sample to the University of North Texas for specialists to extract a DNA sample and preserve it for analysis and identification.

    UNT specialists sent the extracted DNA sample to Othram Inc., a Texas-based genetics lab, after the lab notified MCSO that they had received grant funds to trace the sample to living relatives with forensic genetic genealogy.

    Initial laboratory findings showed that Hietamaki, then John Doe, was a descendant of ancestors born in the 1800s and residing in Michigan, according to the release.

    Hietamaki’s siblings told investigators they last heard of him traveling in the US Southwest before he disappeared nearly 30 years ago.

    More tests showed that John Doe’s remains belonged to Heitamaki.

    Heitemaki, named Herman, was born April 4, 1950, and attended high school in Michigan, according to the release. He also attended mechanic school, began traveling out of state after graduation, and was known to hitchhike and live a nomadic life.

    Public records show he lived in Las Vegas for a period of time, sheriff’s officials reported.

    His family told investigators that Hietamaki suffered from epileptic seizures and that they last saw him when he visited his sister in New Mexico 29 years ago.

    The medical examiner’s office estimated that Hietamaki died between 2006 and 2008. Officials could not determine how he died because of the condition of his remains, according to the statement.

    “The Mohave County Sheriffs would like to thank Othram Inc. for the work done on this case and for obtaining grants to allow the forensic genetic genealogy investigation to be completed,” officials wrote. “Hietamaki’s family now has closure due to their dedication in identifying John and Jane Does.”

    In related news, a Traverse City construction project off after workers found what may be human bones on July 26. Police said they are still investigating with Michigan State Police, Michigan Department of Transportation archaeologists and forensic anthropologists from Western Michigan University.

    The University of Michigan Police Department joined forces in June with MSP and local experts to investigate other possible human remains found near UM’s Ann Arbor campus.

    Online Niel
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