Human remains found in Olympic National Park identified

Published 10:05 am Friday, June 12, 2026

PORT ANGELES — Skeletal remains discovered inside a tent near the Sol Duc River in Olympic National Park have been identified following a decades-long investigation that involved the National Park Service Investigative Services Branch, the King County Medical Examiner’s Office and forensic genealogy laboratory Othram.

The man has been identified as Joseph Louis Serrao Jr., the National Park Service said Thursday.

A researcher exploring the area came upon a sleeping bag on July 11, 2000, containing skeletal remains and alerted authorities.

The remains were transported to the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, where a pathologist determined the individual was likely a man between 30 and 50 years old who had been deceased for six months to four years.

The case was sent to King County rather than Clallam County because the King County Medical Examiner’s Office is home to the state forensic anthropologist. In cases like this one, where the decedent’s remains are skeletal, counties often request a consult from the state forensic anthropologist. However, the Clallam County Coroner’s Office remains the lead medical examiner’s office in this case.

Items recovered from the tent were examined by the Washington State Patrol Crime Laboratory, but no usable fingerprints could be developed and the man’s identity remained unknown for nearly a quarter of a century.

In 2024, the state Legislature allocated $500,000 for genetic genealogy testing of unidentified decedents statewide. That allowed the King County Medical Examiner’s Office to submit DNA samples to Othram, a genetic genealogy company, for 45 cases — including the case later identified as Serrao Jr., whose remains had been in the office’s custody since 2000.

The National Park Service Investigative Services Branch, which also was involved in the case, then located and contacted relatives in several states, including Hawaii, and it coordinated interviews and collected reference DNA samples for comparison.

As they combined the genetic findings with genealogical research and circumstantial evidence, investigators confirmed the remains as those of Serrao Jr.

“This case remained unresolved for nearly 30 years, but investigators never lost sight of the goal of identifying this individual and finding answers for his family,” said Debra Flowers, deputy chief of the National Park Service Investigative Services Branch, in the news release.

“I’m proud of the persistence and collaboration that made this identification possible, and I hope it brings some measure of closure to those who have spent so many years wondering what happened to Joseph.”

Serrao Jr. originally was from Hawaii and had been in Washington state before his disappearance, according to family members. The family’s last contact with him was in 1998, after which they heard nothing further until they were notified of his identification.