Summary

In October 2024, the skeletal remains of an unidentified individual were found in a mobile home that was sold at auction. During an investigation, it was determined that the man was last seen alive in April 2024 and was known to many people as David Mayhan or Michael Deaver and had used the name Mike Deaver for most of his life. However, further investigation found that this name and the man's social security number were both linked back to a person who died as a baby and authorites suspect identity theft.

Despite investigators' efforts, the man could not be identified, and he was classified as John Doe. The decedent was entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP136348.The Washoe County Regional Medical Examiner’s Office is now seeking to utilize advanced DNA technology in hopes of providing new leads about the man’s identity. Othram’s scientists will extract DNA from the forensic evidence and use Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive DNA profile suitable for forensic genetic genealogical research. A DNASolves® crowdfunding campaign has been launched to cover the costs of this specialized testing and analysis.

Anyone with information that could aid in this investigation is encouraged to contact the Washoe County Regional Medical Examiner’s Office at 775-785-6114 and reference case number: 2024-04458.

Your support can make a difference in identifying this individual. Please consider contributing to the DNASolves® crowdfund to help cover the costs of advanced DNA testing. Additionally, if you have taken a consumer DNA test, you can contribute by opting into forensic genetic genealogy matching to assist in solving this case and others like it.