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.
A researcher exploring the area came upon a sleeping bag in July 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.
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, a forensic anthropologist with the King County Medical Examiner’s Office submitted a DNA sample from the remains to Othram, a forensic genealogy company, for advanced genetic testing. Analysts examined a broad range of DNA markers to identify potential relatives and develop investigative leads and by last year had identified possible family connections.
The National Park Service Investigative Services Branch 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.
“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 was originally 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.
