Isanti County Chief Deputy Lisa Lovering reported in a press conference on Jan. 12 that remains found in Bradford Township in August 2003 had been positively identified in December 2021 as Rindahl using investigative genetic genealogy consultant Barbara Rae-Venter and a lab in Texas called Othram.
In 2019, Lovering started the process of using current DNA technology to try to identify the remains. Based off of the information from the family, as well as the scene in 2003, it is believed Rindahl was a victim of homicide, but his death has been classified as undetermined. From the timeline of Rindahl’s disappearance and the crime scene, it is believed he was buried in Isanti County in late 1970 to early 1971 at the age of 22. Lovering said the family was told the FBI had been looking for Rindahl prior to his disappearance due to some involvement with drugs.
It was a random phone call that someone was calling about their brother that they hadn’t seen in 51 years. So there was a lot of shock and disbelief at first, and I think once I got the DNA match, it set in a little more,” Lovering said. “There’s a lot of unanswered questions for them. We don’t know what happened. We don’t know where he was and we don’t know who was involved. So I think there’s still a lot of confusion going on in the family right now.”
Rindahl’s remains were found during an excavation project by a land owner in 2003. At the time, it was believed the body was that of a Caucasian male, 20-28 years old and had been buried for three to 28 years. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension obtained a DNA profile as well as the dental records, which were entered into missing person databases. A facial reconstruction was also done.
“I wasn’t the original investigator on this case; I helped with it back then. But I kept it on my desk because I always tried to figure out will we figure out who this person is,” Lovering said. “And then I knew of newer technology that was coming out, so I was hoping it would be a match. And then when I got that phone call, there literally was an email that said here’s the name. I was in shock. I couldn’t believe that we had a person of who it was and then to call the family, I didn’t even think they’d call me back because I wasn’t sure. It was a random name. And then when they called me back and told me he had been missing, then I was in disbelief as well. But I was comforted to know that we know who he was.”
Tips from community needed in Rindahl investigation
