Shocking break in Hoover Dam missing man case after three decades

Police in Arizona have identified remains found near the historic Hoover Dam as being that of a man who was last seen nearly 30 years ago. 

William Herman Hietamaki, from Michigan, was last seen by his siblings in 1995 when he had traveled to visit his sister in New Mexico. 

Hietamaki was known to live a nomadic lifestyle according to the Mohave County Sheriff's Office and had dropped off the radar after visiting family. 

Then, 14 years later, construction workers pouring cement near the Hoover Dam in 2009 managed to uncover his remains, which have now been officially identified. 

Workers had observed what appeared to be a bone on the ground, and after a survey of the area found additional bones that they concluded to be human. 

The Mohave County Sheriff's Office said that the two men contacted local authorities who went on to find more bones. 

Officers also found a sun-bleached pair of blue jeans, a damaged white towel, a sun-bleached red t-shirt, a black athletic shoe and a green sleeping bag.

The items were handed over the Mohave County Medical Examiner's Office, with detectives attempting to generate leads on the mysterious remains with no results.

In February of 2022, a sheriff's detective sent a bone sample to the Arizona Department of Public Safety for examination. 

Another was also sent to the University of North Texas who managed to extract a DNA sample. 

Despite the positive find, all attempts to identify Hietamaki were met with negative results. 

It wasn't until April of this year that company Othram, a genetic lab in Texas, were able to create a DNA profile which was uploaded into a genealogy database. 

In October, investigators were then informed that the remains were a descendant of ancestors born in the mid-1800's that resided in Michigan. 

Officers then started conducting interviewing possible relatives, when they discovered siblings of Hietamaki who told them their story. 

Subsequent testing conducted on his relatives concluded that the remains were that of Hietamaki.

Due to the state of his remains, the medical examiners office has been unable to determine a cause of death. They estimated he died between 2006 and 2008. 

He was born on April 4, 1950, and resided in Trout Creek, Michigan, and after graduating mechanic's school started traveling. 

Hietamaki was known to suffer from epileptic seizures and also to hitchhike to various locations.  

A search of public records showed that he at one point had resided in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

In a statement, the Mohave County Sheriff's Office said: 'We would like to thank Othram Inc. for their work in this case and for obtaining grant funding to enable the forensic genetic genealogy investigation to be completed. Hietamaki’s family now has closure due to their dedication in identifying John and Jane Does.'