Snohomish County Sheriff's and Medical Examiner's Offices Partner with Othram to Identify Lake Stickney John Doe

Thanks to the combined efforts of the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office, Snohomish County Medical Examiner's Office, and Othram, a homicide victim found in Lake Stickney over 25 years ago has been finally identified as Rodney Peter Johnson
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Published August 12 by Michael Vogen
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Summary

The search for answers began in 1994 when a fisherman discovered a body in Stickney Lake. The Snohomish County Medical Examiner's office determined the deceased to be between 25 and 35 years old and the victim of a violent homicide. There are multiple facial reconstructions for the victim, in part because ethnicity assessment was inconclusive. Each artistic rendition was shared with the public in hopes that someone would recognize the victim and come forward with information. The case was entered into NamUs as UP2137.

Detective Scharf and Investigator Jorgensen reached out to Othram, the nation’s only forensic DNA sequencing laboratory, to perform DNA testing. Despite having less than a fifth of a nanogram (less than 20 cell’s worth) of badly degraded and heavily contaminated human DNA to work with – a scenario currently inaccessible by any other forensic lab - Othram’s scientists used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® and a combination of proprietary enrichment methods and sequencing protocols to reconstruct a genealogical profile for the Lake Stickney John Doe that enabled Detective Scharf and Investigator Jorgensen to leverage Othram’s cutting-edge technology and good old-fashioned detective work to identify the deceased as Rodney Peter Johnson.

After uploading the genealogical profile to a public genealogical database, a match was identified. Othram’s internal laboratory team worked with investigators to establish an ID for Mr. Johnson. Usually, one match is not enough to point to a single person. However, this match had included another clue in their public database profile. They belonged to a distinctive direct maternal lineage. The high-resolution profile developed by Othram allowed investigators to perfectly match up this uncommon maternal lineage signature. The investigators then found a record for a missing person that appeared to match Mr. Johnson. Interestingly, although the missing person was reported in 1996, the Mr. Johnson had last been seen in 1987. He was only 25 years old. It’s likely that the Lake Stickney John Doe had been in the lake for as many as seven years before being discovered.

Investigators reached out to next-of-kin and used legacy DNA testing to confirm the identity established from the genealogical profile. Investigators are now working to better understand what might have happened in the days leading up the Johnson’s death. Anyone with information related to Rodney Peter Johnson or his disappearance is asked to call the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office tip line at 425-388-3845.

Help fund another case Your contributions pay for lab supplies and research tools

Michael Vogen

Michael Vogen

Director of Case Management

2829 Technology Forest Blvd Suite 100, The Woodlands, Texas 77381
media@othram.com

Michael works with law enforcement agencies throughout the United States and Canada on “unsolvable“ cases that can benefit from advanced DNA testing methods. He helps these agencies use cutting edge DNA sequencing and new forensic techniques to develop investigative leads for their cases.

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About Othram Inc.

Othram is the world’s first private DNA laboratory built specifically to apply the power of modern parallel sequencing to forensic evidence. Othram’s scientists are experts at ... Read morerecovery, enrichment, and analysis of human DNA from trace quantities of degraded or contaminated materials. Founded in 2018, and located in The Woodlands, Texas, our team works with academic researchers, forensic scientists, medical examiners, and law enforcement agencies to achieve results when other approaches have failed. Follow Othram on Twitter @OthramTech or visit Othram.com to learn how we can help you with your case. With dnasolves.com anyone can make a difference and help solve the next cold case.