After more than four decades, authorities have finally identified the remains of a California man found in a desert area of northwest Arizona in 1982. Mohave County Sheriff’s officials announced on Tuesday that advanced DNA testing confirmed the remains to be those of Virgil R. Renner, who had left his home in Humboldt County, California, in the early 1970s to search for gold in Nevada.
Renner, who never married or had children, had both his siblings pass away long ago. It remains a mystery as to how or why Renner ended up in Arizona. His remains were discovered in September 1982 in a desert area near Kingman, and an autopsy estimated that Renner died between 1979 and 1981 at around the age of 55.
Among the items recovered at the scene were a tattered short-sleeve shirt, parts of a leather belt, denim pants, one argyle sock, a plastic hair comb, a can opener, fingernail clippers, and a toothbrush. Despite these belongings, Renner’s identity remained unknown and unclaimed in the Tucson medical examiner’s office until 2020.
It was in 2020 that a special investigations unit brought the remains to Mohave County, where a DNA sample was sent to a genetic laboratory in Texas. Through advanced testing, forensic-grade genome sequencing, and forensic genetic genealogy, scientists were able to develop a DNA profile of the remains and identify Renner through his distant relatives.
This breakthrough in identifying Renner brings closure to a long-standing mystery and highlights the power of modern DNA technology in solving cold cases. The case serves as a reminder of the importance of preserving and utilizing genetic information to provide answers and justice, even decades after a person’s death.
