BONNEVILLE COUNTY, Idaho — Detectives solved a 1986 missing persons case by identifying DNA on a tibia bone discovered in the river decades after the victim went missing.
Wayne Dee Heath was reportedly missing after presumably having drowned while he and his friend were fishing on the south fork of the Snake River in Bonneville County in April of 1986, according to Bonneville County Sheriff's Office (BCSO).
On Friday, BCSO said in a news release that it was various discoveries, including a human tibia bone found in 2009, spanning several decades that led detectives to ultimately identify Heath and close the missing persons cold case 38 years later.
Heath and his friend were fishing just below the Palisades Dam, when a rope became tangled in the boat's propeller, causing it to take on water. The two then abandoned the boat in an attempt to swim to shore, however, Heath never made it. BCSO said that a witness claimed Heath disappeared approximately one-fourth of a mile downstream.
Fast forward 23 years - in June 2009, a local was fishing in the Snake River in Jefferson County, Idaho, when he found a human tibia bone on a sand bar.
The bone was turned over to law enforcement and sent to the University of Texas, where researchers were able to eventually extract enough DNA to determine a genetic profile. In January 2013, the genetic data was then entered into the Unidentified Human (Remains) index of the Combined DNA Index System, where it remained unidentified for another 11 years.
In February 2024, the Bonneville County Sheriff's Office was notified by the university stating that the DNA on the tibia matched the DNA of Heath's son and daughter.
Nearly four decades after Heath's disappearance, BCSO said advanced technology, and DNA collection and storage enabled detectives to finally identify Wayne Heath, provide answers and closure to his family, and close his 38-year missing case.
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