Ohio Authorities Discover Identity of 1991 John Doe

In 1991, hunters discovered the body of an unknown individual in a shallow grave near a farm in Ohio. Authorities have finally identified the John Doe as Robert A. Mullins, who had gone missing between 1988 and 1989.

The remains were discovered in a shallow grave when they were first located in 1991, giving authorities reason for the case to be a homicide. Many hypotheses regarding the victim’s identity, including that of a woman or an indigenous individual had been disproved, according to CBS News. The case remained unsolved for decades, though authorities were able to identify the victim as male in 2012, according to The Columbus Dispatch. In January 2022, the sheriff’s office contacted AdvanceDNA, which specialized in forensic genealogy, to help with identifying the victim.

More than thirty years after the body’s discovery, Robert A. Mullins was identified as the remains found in the grave. The DNA samples taken from the body matched the samples taken from the Mullins family, according to CBS News. The Mullins family confirmed that Robert, 21 years old at the time of his disappearance, went missing between the end of 1988 and beginning of 1989. Authorities have not yet ruled out the possibility of a homicide as they continue investigating.