On the morning of July 11, 1963, a fisherman made a horrifying discovery: He stumbled across the concealed remains of a 2-year-old boy.

The tiny body was wrapped in blankets, tied with wire and held down by iron weights in the Keene Creek Reservoir along Oregon 66 east of Ashland, Oregon.

Officials moved the body to a cemetery where his tombstone read, “Unknown Baby Boy 1961-1963.″ The investigation was given case number 63-2301. For more than 50 years, it wouldn’t get much further than that. By 2020, the case was the oldest known unidentified human remains case in the state of Oregon.

On Episode 2 of The Unidentifieds podcast, hosts Regan Mertz and Dave Killen take listeners on a trip to the Siskiyou Mountains where the remains were found, talk to a former investigator who pursued the case, and introduce you to Cece Moore, Parabon NanoLabs’ chief genetic genealogist. Moore is one of the nation’s foremost experts in the field.

In this episode, we learn how a Facebook message, a DNA match and genealogical sleuthing gave a little boy his name back.

Subscribe to The Unidentifieds anywhere you listen to podcasts and give it a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts. Better yet, tell a friend about the show if you enjoyed it.

Look for Episode 3 on April 24.

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