Missing 18-year-old’s remains ID’d 4 years after they’re found by Georgia landscapers
Human remains found behind an Atlanta-area business in 2020 have been identified as a missing Georgia man, thanks to DNA testing.
Josiah Campbell, 18, left home on Sept. 25 and was never seen again, according to Othram, a Texas-based company that uses forensic and genetic technologies to solve missing person cases.
On Oct. 23, a group of landscapers came across a body in the woods behind a business on Lawrenceville Highway in Tucker, according to the DeKalb County Medical Examiner’s Office.
The then-unidentified man was wearing denim jeans, one sock and a silver stud earring in his left ear, per a notice issued by authorities at the time. Investigators believed he had been dead for at least three weeks.
Sheriff’s deputies were called and the remains were taken to the county’s district attorney’s office, where authorities entered the case into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, Othram said in a July 26 news release.
An artist’s sketch was also released in hopes that someone might recognize the unidentified man.
In 2024, the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office sent forensic evidence to Othram, which scientists used to “build a comprehensive DNA profile for the unknown man,” the company said.
“Once the profile was successfully built, Othram’s in-house forensic genetic genealogy team produced new investigative leads that were provided to the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office,” Othram said.
Back in Georgia, authorities did a follow-up investigation that led them to a potential relative, according to the genetic testing company. They used a DNA sample provided by the relative to positively identify the remains as Campbell’s.
The 18-year-old from Snellville went missing on his way to a music studio, officials said. He would’ve turned 22 on July 26.
Authorities didn’t provide details on the circumstances that led to Campbell’s death.
Tucker is about a 20-mile drive northeast from downtown Atlanta.
This story was originally published July 30, 2024 at 10:12 AM with the headline "Missing 18-year-old’s remains ID’d 4 years after they’re found by Georgia landscapers."