MERCER ISLAND, Wash. — A man whose body was found floating in Lake Washington near Mercer Island in 2018 has been identified with the help of DNA.
Angel Arroyo Hernandez, 53, was wearing only socks when he was found and had been estranged from his family for some time before his death.
Mercer Island Police investigators worked on the case with no success until they contacted the DNA Doe Project to try investigative genetic genealogy.
At first, the John Doe was believed to be Asian, but genealogists quickly discovered he was actually Hispanic, with many ancestors from Mexico and the Southwest US.
A DNA profile was created from a blood sample that was taken from the body at the time it was discovered. No close relatives were found, so genetic genealogists started building family trees with the closest matches, looking for common ancestors that would help lead them to the correct branch of the huge family tree.
Investigators painstakingly went through historical records hand-written in Spanish to trace his family across 11 generations and more than 200 years to find the John Doe’s identity.
“This case is a good example of why cases of unidentified Hispanic and Indigenous people are so challenging,” said DNA Doe Project team leader Rebecca Somerhalder. “Even though it seems like a lot of matches, when they are all so distant to the Doe, we have a lot of work to do with limited access to records in Central and South American countries to work with.”