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Riverside County Sheriff's Department Identifies 1978 John Doe After Nearly Five Decades
The Riverside County Sheriff's Department has identified a John Doe nearly five decades after a deadly traffic collision in Riverside.
Investigators say the victim was 18-year-old Mark Alan Smith, who was killed in a crash on June 2, 1978.
Authorities say five teenagers were inside the vehicle at the time of the collision. The driver was the only survivor. While three of the victims were identified shortly after the crash, one remained unidentified because the surviving driver told investigators he had only met the young man the day before and knew very little about him.
The breakthrough came after investigators exhumed the victim's remains and used forensic genetic genealogy to identify him. Working with the nonprofit organization Gen Genies, authorities were able to make a positive identification as Mark Allen Smith.
The sheriff's department says the case was made possible through assistance from the Bureau of Justice Assistance's Missing and Unidentified Human Remains Grant Program, which supports efforts to identify unidentified decedents using modern forensic techniques.
Officials say the identification brings long-awaited answers to a case that remained unsolved for nearly 48 years and demonstrates the growing role of forensic genealogy in resolving cold cases.
By: NBC Palm Springs
July 14, 2026
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