GREENWOOD, Ind. — Human remains discovered 31 years ago in a suburb south of Indianapolis have been identified as a man from South Carolina, authorities said.
Relatives of Michael Benjamin Davis said they had lost contact with him in the late 1980s, the Johnson County coroner's office said.
DNA testing and genealogy work helped scientists determine the identity of the remains found in 1993 at what is now a golf course in Greenwood, Indiana, the coroner's office said in a written statement Sunday. According to DNASolves.com, the remains were first transported to the University of North Texas where investigators were able to determine the remains were of a man between the ages of 14 and 30, who stood between 4'10" and 5'4".
Details of the case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System in 2008 and in 2023, scientists using forensic evidence were able to extract enough DNA to build a profile of the unknown individual. That DNA evidence lead to the positive identification of the man.
“Although this case has long been suspected of having been a homicide, the cause and manner of death have been ruled undetermined unless more information is discovered,” the Johnson County coroner's office said.
Davis was born in Richland County, South Carolina, in 1965, according to DNASolves.com, which works with police to assist in human identification cases.
Davis' family plans to travel to Indiana to collect the remains and speak to news media Thursday, the Johnson County coroner's office said.