DNA technology solves 30-year-old mystery of missing man’s remains

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WASHINGTON, Oct 2, (Agencies); In a significant development, authorities have recently confirmed the identity of remains discovered in a wooded area back in 1996, bringing closure to a long-standing mystery. The New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office, in collaboration with the New Hampshire Cold Case Unit and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME), has positively identified the remains as belonging to William Benjamin Adams.

William Benjamin Adams, 78 at the time of his disappearance, left his Canaan, New Hampshire, home in June 1991 to go for a walk but tragically never returned. His family revealed that he had been struggling with dementia, making his disappearance even more distressing. Despite extensive efforts to locate him in 1991, their search proved unsuccessful.

In November 1996, a hunter stumbled upon skeletal remains in a wooded area in Hanover, prompting an immediate investigation by the authorities. Given the proximity to Adams’ last known location, they suspected a connection to his disappearance. Subsequent searches in the area uncovered additional remains.

In 1997, the remains were sent to an out-of-state forensic anthropologist for examination. While the biological characteristics appeared consistent with those of Benjamin Adams, a definitive identification was not possible at that time.

Recently, a renewed effort to solve the mystery of Adams’ disappearance was undertaken, leveraging modern DNA technology. This involved obtaining a DNA sample from Adams’ son and comparing it with some of the skeletal remains recovered in 1996. Bode Technology, a private laboratory, conducted the DNA comparison testing.

The results were conclusive, with Bode Technology confirming a probability of relatedness of “at least 99.999998%,” and the DNA evidence being “at least 42 million times” more likely to be from a biological parent than from untested and unrelated individuals, according to the attorney general’s office.

With this positive identification, the OCME is now working to reunite the remains with William Benjamin Adams’ family, providing them with the closure they have been seeking for nearly three decades.

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