Remains from 18 Year Old Unmarked Grave Identified
San Mateo, California (united States):
An 18-year-old mystery is one step closer to being solved after unidentified remains were shown to be that of a missing man.
Nearly six months after unearthing remains from an unmarked grave at San Mateo's Skylawn Memorial, the San Mateo County Coroner's Office has identified them as Mark Clarke Smith, of Mountain View.
In 1987, Smith was 27 years old when he disappeared from the Peninsula city and his car was found abandoned just south of Pescadero. His body washed up days later on a nearby beach.
Unable to identify him at the time, Smith's remains were buried with those of a Jane Doe, or unidentified woman, at Skylawn. In April, the coroner's office, with the help of a forensic anthropologist, took a femur from the man's remains and a femur and jaw bone from the woman's remains and sent them to the state Department of Justice's lab in Richmond.
There, DNA was extracted and submitted to the Department of Justice Missing Persons DNA Database. DNA taken from Smith's mother matched the DNA from his leg bone, said Coroner Robert Foucrault.
Investigators were less successful with Jane Doe's remains, but entered her DNA into the system with hopes of yielding a match in the future.
Smith's marks the second case this year in which the coroner's office has been able to make an identification with DNA. Investigators identified a third person by reviewing old case files.
"It's exciting for us that we were able to go through the folders and take another look at this case," Foucrault said. "We don't just go out and investigate deaths, we're responsible for getting them identified."
Oct 01, 2005
Amy Yarbrough, San Mateo County Times, CA
San Mateo, California (united States):
An 18-year-old mystery is one step closer to being solved after unidentified remains were shown to be that of a missing man.
Nearly six months after unearthing remains from an unmarked grave at San Mateo's Skylawn Memorial, the San Mateo County Coroner's Office has identified them as Mark Clarke Smith, of Mountain View.
In 1987, Smith was 27 years old when he disappeared from the Peninsula city and his car was found abandoned just south of Pescadero. His body washed up days later on a nearby beach.
Unable to identify him at the time, Smith's remains were buried with those of a Jane Doe, or unidentified woman, at Skylawn. In April, the coroner's office, with the help of a forensic anthropologist, took a femur from the man's remains and a femur and jaw bone from the woman's remains and sent them to the state Department of Justice's lab in Richmond.
There, DNA was extracted and submitted to the Department of Justice Missing Persons DNA Database. DNA taken from Smith's mother matched the DNA from his leg bone, said Coroner Robert Foucrault.
Investigators were less successful with Jane Doe's remains, but entered her DNA into the system with hopes of yielding a match in the future.
Smith's marks the second case this year in which the coroner's office has been able to make an identification with DNA. Investigators identified a third person by reviewing old case files.
"It's exciting for us that we were able to go through the folders and take another look at this case," Foucrault said. "We don't just go out and investigate deaths, we're responsible for getting them identified."
Oct 01, 2005
Amy Yarbrough, San Mateo County Times, CA
