Craig William Ott Identified After 22 Years: Unsolved Mystery of Body Found in Minor Slough River Finally Solved

In March 2001, the body of an unidentified man was found floating in the Minor Slough River on Ryer Island, just north of Rio Vista, California. 

Rio Vista is located southwest of Sacramento and northeast of San Francisco. 

Investigators determined that the remains belonged to a white male, aged between 50 and 60 years old, standing 5’7” tall and weighing 158 pounds.

At the time, investigators noted several tattoos on the man’s body. 

His upper-left arm had a heart with an arrow through it and a banner, though the name on the banner was unreadable. 

His upper-right arm featured a black-and-white eagle. 

On his back, there was a collection of tattoos.

This includes a nude woman sitting on a snake, barbed wire, the letters "SS," a castle, a swastika, a bearded face, a skull, and a tombstone with "RIP." 

Despite efforts to identify him, the man, referred to as John Doe #3 (2001), remained unnamed for nearly a year.

He was then being buried without proper identification.

In March 2016, the case details were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP17594. 

Despite extensive efforts by law enforcement, no matches were found, and the case went cold.

In 2023, the Solano County Coroner’s Office sent forensic evidence to Othram in The Woodlands, Texas, hoping advanced DNA testing might help identify the man. 

Othram scientists successfully extracted DNA from the evidence and used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to create a detailed genealogical profile. 

Othram’s forensic genetic genealogy team used this profile to generate new investigative leads.

With this new information, investigators traced potential relatives of the man. 

DNA samples were collected from these relatives and compared to the unknown man’s DNA profile. 

This investigation led to the positive identification of the man as Craig William Ott from Sacramento, California, born on September 2, 1956. 

Ott had disappeared in January 2001 under mysterious circumstances.

In another DNA breakthrough, authorities have finally identified the human remains found 31 years ago in Greenwood, Indiana. 

Click here for more details on the case.

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