COLUMBUS, Ohio — Authorities have identified human remains discovered 31 years ago in Pickaway County as a man from Columbus who was reported missing in the late 80s.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Pickaway County Sheriff Matthew Hafey announced Tuesday the remains were identified as Robert A. Mullins. Mullins’ family reported that he went missing in late 1988 or early 1989 at age 21.
“Thirty-one Christmases have gone by while this family waited for answers,” Yost said. “When the results weren’t immediate and the case grew cool, Pickaway County law enforcement dug in their heels and kept trying until the evolution of DNA technology finally yielded an identity for John Doe.”
Robert’s older brother David Mullins said the last three decades left his family in agony.
"I know through this experience my mom struggled before she left the earth, you know, not finding out what took place with him,” he said.
David said Robert was one of six siblings and hopes this discovery brings his family closure.
“I have one sibling alive left, so he gets some closure and I get some closure,” he said "It crushed me, finding out, because you always hope, you always truly hope that he just went on with life somewhere else, but that wasn't the case.”
On Nov. 1, 1991, hunters found skeletal remains in a shallow grave beside a private farm lane on the north side of state Route 56, just west of state Route 159.
Initially, the remains were believed to be those of an Indigenous American but further review by anthropologists determined that the remains had been in the ground for no more than three years and were possibly those of a female.
According to Yost’s office, investigators with the sheriff’s office and the Pickaway County Coroner’s Office continued to pursue the case with advancements in DNA technology.
The remains were tested at the University of North Texas in 2012 where scientists extracted DNA and determined the individual was male.
In 2019, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation was requested by the coroner’s office to assist and open an unidentified human remains case which was able to extract enough DNA from the original bones for advanced testing. Investigators turned their focus to genetic genealogy in 2021.
In January 2022, the sheriff’s and coroner’s offices contracted with AdvanceDNA, which uploaded the profile into Family Tree DNA and GEDmatch databases.
Exactly 31 years from the date of the discovery, AdvanceDNA provided officials a strong lead on the identity on Nov. 1, 2022.
This month, Mullins’ family was consulted and proved a DNA sample for comparison, which provided final verification.
Sheriff Hafey noted the commitment that his late predecessor, Sheriff’s Dwight Radliff, invested in the case.
“He told us, ‘We are all duty-bound – police officers and citizens alike – to determine this [individual’s] identity and the circumstances of [their] demise,’” he said.
The case remains an open homicide investigation with the sheriff’s office. Anyone with information about the case is urged to call 740-474-2176.