Oregon State Police say the remains belong to Robert Lee Horton, 47, who had moved from Hawaii to Portland in 2004
Credit: Oregon State Police
NEED TO KNOW
- Skeletal remains found more than 20 years ago near a Portland cemetery have been identified using advanced DNA testing techniques
- The remains were identified as belonging to Robert Lee Horton, who went missing in 2004 after moving from Hawaii to Portland
- Authorities credited interagency teamwork and genetic genealogy for solving the decades-old cold case and bringing closure to Horton’s family
Skeletal remains found in a wooded area of Portland, Ore., two decades ago have finally been identified, thanks to advanced DNA analysis, Oregon State Police said on Tuesday, May 5.
Two people found the remains of Robert Lee Horton near Riverview Cemetery in Southwest Portland on Dec. 19, 2004, state police said in a press release. Portland Police and a Multnomah County medicolegal death investigator led the investigation.
The human remains were found alongside cooking pans, food items, clothing and a fabric lean-to. The clothing and skeletal remains were sent to the Oregon State Medical Examiner’s office, where an autopsy was performed. No cause or manner of death was determined.
A DNA sample was sent to the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification for Short Tandem Repeat DNA sequencing and entered into the Combined DNA Index System in 2010, Oregon State Police said. Oregon officials frequently checked in on databases, but there was no progress in the case.
In 2018, the medical examiner’s office won a grant to use new DNA testing techniques. The case was identified as one that could use a new look through Parabon NanoLabs. An additional bone sample helped produce a Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) DNA profile.
In 2022, a DNA genetic genealogy report linked the remains to Horton’s distant relatives. It was a start, but the case wasn’t reopened until 2025, after the medical examiner asked Parabon NanoLabs if there were more leads. Eventually, Horton was identified as a possible match.
Horton went missing in 2004. He was 47 at the time. His family told investigators that he moved from Hawaii to Portland that year and never picked up items sent to him. Detectives reached out to his family and obtained a DNA sample from his mother, which was sent to the Parabon NanoLabs DNA extraction lab for testing.
After additional testing, it was determined by April that the remains belonged to Horton.
Authorities told Horton’s family about the identification. His mother died a short time afterward, OSP said.
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“While no amount of time can lessen the loss experienced by Robert Horton’s loved ones, we hope this identification brings a measure of closure and answers they have long deserved,” Portland Police Chief Bob Day said in a statement.
“This case highlights the exceptional interagency teamwork required to resolve cold cases of this nature," State Forensic Anthropologist Hailey Collord-Stalder added. "OSP is grateful for the cutting‑edge genetic genealogy analysis provided by Parabon NanoLabs, the seamless case work by the Multnomah County Medical Examiner’s Office, and the dedicated investigation by the Portland Police Bureau. By collaborating closely with the State Medical Examiner’s Office and combining resources, the agencies were able to advance the case in ways none could have achieved alone.”
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