New DNA analysis carried out last month by an Alaska crime lab identified remains found in 2004 as belonging to a Juneau man missing since 1999, Juneau Police announced Thursday.
Darryl Bruce Fawcett was 28 years old when he went missing. According to missing persons reports from both JPD and Alaska State Troopers, he was last contacted by his family before Sept. 1, 1999. At that time, he was reported to be unhoused in Juneau. Checks sent to him by family began to be returned in October.
According to the department release, a diver in the Gastineau Channel, near Merchant’s Wharf south of Egan Drive, found human remains around 80 feet below the water’s surface. They were recovered and submitted to the state medical examiner, but were never successfully identified.
The Alaska Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory on July 21 began using new DNA analysis technology “capable of extracting profiles from bones and teeth,” the release says. Only 10 days later, on Thursday, July 31, the more than 20-year-old remains were identified as Fawcettt.
Fawcett, who as of Thursday evening is still listed among 17 missing persons sought by the Juneau Police Department, was among the oldest cases on the list — missing for nearly 26 years.
Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.
