The Marin County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed the identity of a man whose body was found in a wilderness area more than four decades ago.
In November 1982, the skeletal remains of a 5 foot, 8 inches tall male, likely between the ages of 60 and 70 years old, were found in the Muir Woods National Monument near the Deer Park Fire Trail in Marin, within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The remains could not be identified and remained unknown for the next four decades.
Sigvard Svensson of San Francisco was positively identified as the decedent after thorough genetic research using DNA from forensic evidence at the scene, the county coroner’s office said in a news release.
Svensson was born in 1908 and immigrated from Sweden to the United States in 1926, according to the county. He eventually settled in San Francisco.
The Marin County Sheriff’s Office began working with the state Department of Justice Jan Bashinski DNA Lab in 2022 to help crack the case. In collaboration with the Othram lab, scientists developed a genetic profile from the forensic evidence left at the scene. Othram is a DNA sequencing lab based in The Woodlands, Texas, that works to solve cold cases using forensic genetic genealogy.
The profile was then used to conduct genealogy research which led investigators to potential relatives of the unknown man. DNA samples were collected from a potential relative and then compared to John Doe’s genetic profile. The findings led to a positive identification of Svensson.
“The Marin County Sheriff’s Office Coroner Division wishes to publicly express our sincerest appreciation to the CA DOJ and Othram for their tireless efforts and assistance with this case leading to the positive identification of Mr. Svensson,” they said.
