In a heartwarming turn of events, a jawbone that was found in Arizona twenty years ago by a young boy with a passion for collecting rocks has finally been identified as belonging to a Marine who tragically lost his life in a training accident back in 1951. This incredible discovery brings closure to the family of the fallen soldier after all these years.
In 2002, the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office received a piece of bone that had been found by a boy’s parents in his rock collection. Last year, after holding onto the bone for many years, the sheriff’s office decided to hand it over to the Ramapo College Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center in New Jersey.
The bone sat inactive for years after traditional DNA testing failed to produce any results. However, the case was reinvigorated when it was handed over to the genealogy center.
In a recent news release, Ramapo College announced that the jawbone discovered belongs to Capt. Everett Leland Yager. He tragically lost his life in a training accident in California over 70 years ago.
Yager’s family collected his remains from the accident site and laid him to rest in his hometown in Missouri. The origin of the jawbone’s journey to Arizona remains uncertain, but experts speculate that a bird may have carried it there.
According to Cairenn Binder, the assistant director of the Ramapo College IGG Center, the students attending the summer boot camp at the school had the opportunity to collaborate with seasoned researchers.
Binder expressed that this case served as a valuable lesson in being prepared for the unexpected and demonstrated the effectiveness of IGG education at Ramapo College of New Jersey.
In May, a forensics lab in Salt Lake City received a sample from a human identification center in Texas. Using genome sequencing and bioinformatics, they were able to develop a genetic profile.
The boot camp students took charge of the case in July and swiftly identified a potential candidate within just two days. They promptly handed over their findings to the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office.
Yager’s family received confirmation last month that the DNA sample provided by his daughter was a parent-child match with the genetic profile. Consequently, the remains will now be handed over to Yager’s family.
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