Arizona is a state that never sleeps, and even though Halloween is over, there are still plenty of real-life horror stories to be found.
A misty graveyard with a grave. After three decades, a seemingly closed case has finally been solved, albeit not completely.
The County Medical Examiner received all the discovered items in an attempt to identify the owner of the bones. Unfortunately, despite determining the time frame of death to be between 2006 and 2009, no further leads or information could be obtained. As a result, the case quickly became unsolved and inactive.
In 2022, after thirteen years of inactivity, the case was reopened with the aim of utilizing genetic research to uncover the identity of the John Doe involved. Researchers at the University of North Texas (Go Mean Green) were provided with a bone sample in hopes of locating relevant genetic records. Regrettably, their efforts yielded no results, leaving little room for optimism.
In April 2024, the Mohave Sheriff’s Office received an update from a Genetic Lab in Texas. The lab informed them that they had obtained a grant to carry out further testing on the bones. After months of waiting, the lab made a breakthrough in October and identified the individual they had been searching for
The discovered remains were identified as William Herman Hietamaki, a Michigan man born in 1950 who had a fondness for exploring the southwest. Whether through hitchhiking or adopting a nomadic lifestyle, he enjoyed traversing the region. His family last saw him in 1995 when he set out to visit his sister in New Mexico. However, the details of what transpired after that remain a mystery and are likely to remain so. After all, the deceased cannot share their story.