Human jawbone found by child rock collector in Arizona is finally identified as ... trends now
A human jawbone found by a child rock collector in Arizona has finally been identified over seven decades later - but how it got there remains a mystery.
DNA testing revealed the bone belonged to US Marine Captain Everett Leland Yager, who was killed in an aerial accident during a military training exercise over Riverside County, California, in July 1951.
His remains were subsequently recovered and laid to rest in Palmyra, Missouri - or so it was believed until now.
'No one is quite sure how the jaw bone ended up in Arizona since the accident took place in the air over California,' experts said in a Ramapo College of New Jersey press release.
'One theory is that a scavenger, such as a bird, picked it up and eventually deposited it during its travels over Arizona. Plans are being made to reunite the remains with the family.'
DNA testing revealed the bone belonged to US Marine Captain Everett Leland Yager, who was killed in an aerial accident during a military training exercise over Riverside County, California , in July 1951
His remains were subsequently recovered and laid to rest in Palmyra, Missouri- or so it was believed until now.
The bone was believed to have been found by a child rock collector in Arizona, but how it got there is a mystery
The bone was believed to have been found by a child rock collector in Arizona, but how it got there is a mystery.
'Fast forward years later to a child who wanted to build a rock collection, and increased said collection by one during a scavenging exploration, presumably in Arizona. But it was not a rock; it was a human jaw bone,' said Lisa A. Ambrose, a spokesperson for the Ramapo College of New Jersey.
When the 'rock' was turned over to the authorities, it was dubbed 'Rock Collection John Doe.'
The case was later handed over to the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office and Yavapai County Medical Examiner.
In January 2023, the office reached out for assistance while attempting to solve the mystery of its origins.
This case involved the youngest person reportedly known to contribute to an investigative genetic genealogy case that was resolved
Through the collaborative efforts of the Ramapo College Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center and the North Texas Center for Human Identification, DNA testing was conducted.
The bone was ultimately identified as belonging to U.S. Marine Corps Captain Everett Leland Yager, confirmed through comparison with a DNA sample from his daughter.
'It was not until March 2024 that the DNA sample from Capt. Yager's daughter confirmed a parent/child relationship, resolving the case and confirming that Rock Collection John Doe was indeed Capt. Everett Leland Yager,'
