DNA Genealogy Identifies 31-Year-Old Found in Utah Desert 28 Years After Discovery
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jun 24
DNA Genealogy Identifies 31-Year-Old Found in Utah Desert 28 Years After Discovery
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jun 24
Summary
Garfield County investigators identified 31-year-old Pedro Calderon Marioni this week, solving a 28-year-old John Doe case tied to remains found in Utah's Glen Canyon area in 1998.
Othram built a DNA profile from the remains after Utah sent the case to the lab in 2024 using federal grant funding, giving investigators new family leads.
A possible sister was located in May, and her DNA sample confirmed the match, ending decades of uncertainty for Marioni's family.
Marioni had likely been dead for about two years when a Colorado Bureau of Investigation agent found his partially buried remains during a 1998 search for 3 fugitives in a separate police-killing case.
The identification is the eighth publicly announced cold-case case solved with Othram's genetic genealogy work, underscoring how newer forensic methods are reopening long-unsolved deaths.