DNA Doe Project resolves case of historic humans remains found in Ohio
Jawbone found in Chillicothe in 2022 belonged to man born in mid-1800s
Chillicothe, Ohio – Three years after a jawbone was found on the banks of the Scioto River, the Ross County Coroner’s Office has closed the case thanks to the work of the DNA Doe Project. In a surprising twist, DNA Doe Project researchers were able to determine that the jawbone belonged to one of a set of brothers, all of whom were born over 150 years ago.
On July 30, 2022, a man and his children were walking near a boat ramp alongside the Scioto River in Yoctangee Park in Chillicothe, Ohio, when they discovered a jawbone. No other bones or remains were located in the area. The jawbone, which did contain some teeth, was confirmed to belong to an adult man, but no other information related to his age or ethnicity could be ascertained.
The Ross County Coroner’s Office later decided to contact the DNA Doe Project, whose expert investigative genetic genealogists volunteer their time to identify John and Jane Does. By January 2024, a DNA profile had been generated from a tooth and uploaded to GEDmatch. The results, however, suggested that this would not be an ordinary case.
Although there were multiple DNA matches who shared a significant amount of DNA with the unidentified man, they shared little DNA with each other. This can be a sign that the person in question was born many generations ago, and it became apparent that this was the case with Yoctangee Park John Doe.
Thankfully, the DNA Doe Project was well equipped to deal with this, having previously solved other ‘historical’ cases. Past success stories include the identifications of Joseph Loveless (died 1916), Edith Patten (died 1891) and Richard Bunts (died 1852).
The case was assigned to the DNA Doe Project’s 2024 spring practicum program, in which six participants worked under the supervision of experienced team leaders to learn and practice the techniques used by the DNA Doe Project on an actual case. By the end of this program, the team working on the case had determined that the John Doe was likely a son of Salem Friend (1828-1917) and Mary Miller (1832-1918), a couple who’d both spent their entire lives living in Ohio. After the practicum ended, investigative genetic genealogists confirmed the findings.
“This was certainly an unusual case, which presented a different set of genealogical challenges,” said co-team leader, Rebecca Somerhalder. “But these challenges made it the perfect case for the practicum team to learn from, and their hard work contributed significantly to the eventual resolution of this case.”
Research found that Salem and Mary had twelve children, including seven sons. Five of these sons survived till adulthood and, as the jawbone belonged to an adult male, it became clear that Yoctangee Park John Doe was one of those five sons. But while investigative genetic genealogy can identify the parents of a John or Jane Doe, it cannot always distinguish between siblings. The five adult sons of Salem and Mary all inherited DNA from the exact same ancestors and they all had death certificates, which indicated that the jawbone found had likely been somehow disinterred after burial.
With no difference in the genetic makeup of the five sons, and traditional ‘proof of life’ searches not being useful in this context, the team had to switch focus to their descendants. Three of the five sons had living descendants, so the coroner’s office reached out to some of their great grandchildren, asking whether they’d be willing to take DNA tests to help ascertain whether Yoctangee Park John Doe was in fact their great grandfather.
“Mike Ratliff, the chief investigator at the coroner’s office, was very successful at garnering interest and securing cooperation from Salem and Mary’s descendants,” said co-team leader, Emily Bill. “Sometimes Mike would make contact with a great grandchild late in the day on the East Coast, and by the next morning, they were already eagerly awaiting my call before I’d even finished my morning coffee on the West Coast.”
Thanks to these efforts, multiple descendants agreed to take DNA tests, and the results of those tests were very informative. Based on the amount of DNA that they shared with the John Doe, it appeared unlikely that the jawbone belonged to any of their great grandfathers. This left two remaining brothers – Jacob Friend and Amos Friend.
Jacob Friend was born in 1852 and died in 1923 at the age of 71 in Toledo, Ohio. His obituary states that he was unmarried, and records show that he was supposedly buried in Bucyrus, Ohio. Amos Friend, born in 1861, led a shorter life, dying in 1898 at the age of 36 in Bucyrus; he was apparently buried in the same cemetery as his brother. Amos did have a son, but this son died in 1961 without any offspring of his own.
As neither Jacob nor Amos had any living descendants, figuring out who the jawbone found in Yoctangee Park belonged to would require the exhumation of their remains. As Yoctangee Park John Doe was now known to be a historical case, and with the prospect of exhumations further disturbing the remains of the Friend brothers, the Ross County Coroner’s Office decided that the case could be closed.
Thanks to the array of DNA Doe Project volunteers who worked on this case, the jawbone found three years ago on the banks of the Scioto River is now known to belong to one of the Friend brothers, with Jacob and Amos Friend the likeliest candidates. But with both of them supposedly having been buried in Bucyrus – 100 miles north of Ross County – it may never be known how the jawbone made its way along the Scioto River to Yoctangee Park.
The DNA Doe Project is grateful to the groups and individuals who helped solve this case: the Ross County Coroner’s Office, who entrusted the case to the DNA Doe Project; the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation for DNA extraction; Astrea Forensics for library preparation for whole-genome sequencing; Azenta Life Sciences for whole-genome sequencing; Kevin Lord for bioinformatics; GEDmatch Pro and FamilyTreeDNA for providing their databases; our generous donors who joined our mission and contributed to this case; and DDP’s dedicated teams of volunteer investigative genetic genealogists who work tirelessly to bring all our Jane and John Does home.
About the DNA Doe Project
The DNA Doe Project is a volunteer-driven 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with the mission to identify John and Jane Does and return them to their families and communities. Investigative genetic genealogy research is provided pro bono to our partners in law enforcement, but the organization relies on donations to fund lab costs and operational support of our volunteers. To date, DDP has helped resolve more than 130 cases of unidentified human remains. For more about our work and to join our mission, visit our website: https://dnadoeproject.org.
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Description:
On July 30, 2022, a man and his children were walking near a boat ramp alongside the Scioto River in the Yoctangee Park Annex in Chillicothe, Ohio, when they discovered a jawbone with teeth. No other bones or remains were located in the area. The jawbone was confirmed to belong to a man, but no other information related to his age or ethnicity could be determined.
NamUs ID: UP94996
Date Body Found: July 30, 2022
Race: Uncertain
Sex: Male
Estimated Age: Unknown
Estimated PMI: Unknown
Agency of Jurisdiction:
Office of the Coroner, Ross County Ohio
Mike Ratliff
740-775-7464
mikeratliff@rosscountyohio.gov
More Information:
https://www.namus.gov/UnidentifiedPersons/Case#/94996
Status: Research in Progress
Doe-Nate Fund Goal:
$3,385
This case was part of DNA Doe Project’s pre-funding program. Funds were provided by individual donors along with a grant and budget obtained by the Ross County Office of the Coroner.
Last Updated: March 17, 2025
