Joseph Louis Serrao Jr. identified after 26 years in Olympic National Park
Human remains found in olympic national park in July 2000 have been identified 26 years later as Joseph Louis Serrao Jr. The remains were discovered in a sleeping bag in the backcountry of Washington state's park, ending a case that had stayed open for nearly 30 years.
Serrao was last seen in 1998, and his family said they had not heard from him since then. He was originally from Hawaii and had been in Washington before he went missing.
Sol Duc River discovery
A researcher found the human skeletal remains in a remote part of Olympic National Park along the Sol Duc River. The sleeping bag was inside a tent, and the remains were found with binoculars, a day hiker pack, a shoulder bag, a folding saw, a blanket and winter gear.
A Washington King County medical examiner's office pathologist said the remains likely belonged to a man between the ages of 30 and 50, and that the man had died at least six months and up to two years earlier. Serrao was born in December 1960 and would have been in his late 30s at the time of his death.
DNA and forensic genealogy
A lack of usable fingerprints and other concrete evidence prevented authorities from developing leads in the case. In 2024, an anthropologist with the medical examiner's office submitted a DNA sample to Othram, which used forensic genealogy in 2025 to identify possible family members.
Investigators reached out to relatives in multiple states, including Hawaii. DNA samples from relatives were then compared and matched to the one taken from Serrao's remains.
Family answers after decades
Debra Flowers, deputy chief of the park service's criminal investigative division, said, "This case remained unresolved for nearly 30 years, but investigators never lost sight of the goal of identifying this individual and finding answers for his family," and added, "I'm proud of the persistence and collaboration that made this identification possible, and I hope it brings some measure of closure to those who have spent so many years wondering what happened to Joseph."
For Serrao's family, the identification closes a gap that began in 1998 and finally gives a name to the remains found in Olympic National Park. The next step is no longer about identifying the body; it is about what this case now tells investigators about Serrao's final months in Washington.
