Summary

In February 2024, the skeletal remains of an unidentified individual were found in Jonesboro, a city in Clayton County, Georgia, just south of Atlanta. Two men were collecting deer stands near a creek in a rural part of the county when they found what they believed were human remains. The Clayton County Police Department responded and began collecting evidence and investigating. They collected the remains and a pair of black shorts and a pair of boxer underwear only. They determined the remains were an adult man, but few other details could be determined about the man, such as his approximate age.

Despite a lengthy investigation, the man could not be identified and became known as Clayton County John Doe (2024). Details of the case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP123477.

In 2025, investigators teamed with Othram to leverage identity inference, a process that enables investigators to identify individuals from DNA evidence, even when there is no known reference sample to initially compare against. Officials with the Clayton County Police Department submitted forensic evidence to Othram's laboratory headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas.

At Othram, scientists reviewed details of the case, determining that advanced DNA testing could help to identify the man. Othram scientists worked to develop a DNA extract from the provided skeletal remains, using Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive SNP profile for the man. This SNP profile powered a forensic search led by Othram's in-house forensic genetic genealogy team, resulting in new investigative leads about the man's identity.

Using this new information, a follow-up investigation was conducted leading investigators to potential relatives of the man. Reference DNA samples were collected from a relative and compared to the DNA profile of the unidentified man. This investigation led to the positive identification of the man, who is now known to be Gerald Fletcher born on February 12, 1962.

Gerald Fletcher, a 60-year-old resident of Jonesboro, Georgia was last seen on September 30, 2022. He was walking in red shorts, a pink shirt and black slides near his residence on Flint River Road in Jonesboro, GA. He was reported missing in December 2022.

Funding for the advanced DNA testing and forensic genetic genealogy used in this case was provided by NamUs, a national clearinghouse that assists the criminal justice community with the investigation and resolution of missing, unidentified, and unclaimed persons cases across the United States and its territories. NamUs is funded and administered by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and is managed through a contract with Research Triangle Institute International. We are grateful for the support of RTI, NamUs, and the NIJ.

Individuals who have taken a consumer DNA test can aid ongoing forensic investigations by joining the DNASolves database. Expanding the pool of available DNA data increases the likelihood of successful identifications, helping to reunite families with their missing loved ones and resolve cases that have remained unsolved for years.

This is the 34th publicly announced case in the State of Georgia where officials leveraged Othram’s identity inference pipeline. Explore other cases on Othram’s website.