DNA Doe Project helps identify remains of man found in 2004

TYLER — Investigative genetic genealogists from the DNA Doe Project along with Tyler Police Detective James Holt have confirmed the identification of the remains of a man found in 2004 in a local barn as Kim Ryan Casey. That’s according to a Tyler PD news release. Police say On December 23, 2004, juveniles found a decomposed human skeleton in a barn in a wooded area near the intersection of Hwy 69 S and FM 2813 in Tyler. It was estimated the man died months earlier. Holt, of the Tyler PD’s Major Crimes Unit, brought the case to the DNA Doe Project in 2019 after officials say he had exhausted all available leads.

Volunteer investigative genetic genealogists from the DNA Doe Project were able to identify a candidate this past August, and Detective Holt was then able to contact family members to confirm the match. One volunteer says the ID search spread as far away as Scotland to find common ancestors. Police say no foul play was suspected in the case. The DNA Doe Project is an all-volunteer non-profit that works to identify human remains and return them to their families.