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ELLENSBURG — After 44 years, human remains discovered in the Upper County have been identified as Donald Grant Anderson, according to a news release from the Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office.
In May 1978, unidentified human remains were discovered near Westside Road in Upper Kittitas County. The remains were sent to the CWU Anthropology department for analysis by Dr. James Alexander, who determined the decedent was likely a female, 30-40 years of age, who had been deceased approximately three to nine months. A forensic pathologist and an odontologist in Wenatchee also performed examinations but there was insufficient information available at the time to identify the decedent.
In subsequent years, Kittitas County Sheriff’s detectives continued their investigation and attempts to identify these remains. In the early 2000s, a DNA sample was extracted and sent for laboratory comparison, but no match was found in the DNA databases that existed at that time. The remains were eventually sent to the King County Medical Examiner’s office for further analysis.
After some time, Washington State Anthropologist Dr. Katherine Taylor sent another DNA sample to the University of North Texas Health Center Laboratory for an identification attempt using improved DNA technology. No match was obtained, but through this analysis the person was determined to be male instead of female as originally believed.
In 2020, Kittitas County Coroner Nick Henderson submitted a sample of the DNA originally extracted by the University of North Texas for comparison to a forensic genealogy data base. Genealogical DNA analysis used a wider spectrum of DNA information to find both close and distant relatives of an unknown subject.
In December 2021, a possible sibling for the person found in 1978 was finally identified. Since then, the Coroner’s Office has been in contact with this person and other family members and has now confirmed their identification. The decedent has been positively identified as Donald Grant Anderson, who, according to family members, was originally from Minnesota and had been in Washington state a short time prior to being reported as a missing person by the Bellevue police department in 1977.
The Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office is continuing its investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Anderson.
A 44-year-old Kittitas County mystery over human remains finally solved
In May 1978, unidentified human remains were discovered near Westside Road in Upper Kittitas County. The remains were sent to the CWU Anthropology department for analysis by Dr. James Alexander, who determined the decedent was likely a female, 30-40 years of age, who had been deceased approximately three to nine months. A forensic pathologist and an odontologist in Wenatchee also performed examinations but there was insufficient information available at the time to identify the decedent.
In subsequent years, Kittitas County Sheriff’s detectives continued their investigation and attempts to identify these remains. In the early 2000s, a DNA sample was extracted and sent for laboratory comparison, but no match was found in the DNA databases that existed at that time. The remains were eventually sent to the King County Medical Examiner’s office for further analysis.
After some time, Washington State Anthropologist Dr. Katherine Taylor sent another DNA sample to the University of North Texas Health Center Laboratory for an identification attempt using improved DNA technology. No match was obtained, but through this analysis the person was determined to be male instead of female as originally believed.
In 2020, Kittitas County Coroner Nick Henderson submitted a sample of the DNA originally extracted by the University of North Texas for comparison to a forensic genealogy data base. Genealogical DNA analysis used a wider spectrum of DNA information to find both close and distant relatives of an unknown subject.
In December 2021, a possible sibling for the person found in 1978 was finally identified. Since then, the Coroner’s Office has been in contact with this person and other family members and has now confirmed their identification. The decedent has been positively identified as Donald Grant Anderson, who, according to family members, was originally from Minnesota and had been in Washington state a short time prior to being reported as a missing person by the Bellevue police department in 1977.
The Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office is continuing its investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Anderson.
A 44-year-old Kittitas County mystery over human remains finally solved
