Skeletal remains discovered near Ojai in 1981 identified as Vietnam veteran Thomas Cooney
VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. (KEYT) – Skeletal remains discovered by hikers in 1981 near Ojai have now been identified as Vietnam veteran Thomas Aquinas Cooney from Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.
In February of 1981, hikers found partial skeletal remains near mile marker 43.50 on Highway 33, and reported what they discovered to law enforcement stated a press release Monday from the Ventura County Sheriff's Office.
Investigators responded to the scene and discovered two pairs of glasses and a green, army-style jacket added the Ventura County Sheriff's Office.
According to the Ventura County Sheriff's Office, the Medical Examiner's Office submitted the collected evidence for further DNA analysis to the Department of Justice, but only a partial profile could be created from what was recovered so it could not be uploaded to the FBI's Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) and the case was eventually added to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System as UP60166.
Recent improvements in DNA technology led to the creation of a full profile for the remains and the Sheriff's Office partnered with Redgrave Research Forensic Services for genetic genealogy research detailed the Ventura County Sheriff's Office.
Detectives were able to locate a family who had not heard from their relative in over 50 years and DNA samples collected from a family member resulted in a positive match for the remains explained the Ventura County Sheriff's Office.
According to the Ventura County Sheriff's Office, the man has now been identified as Thomas Aquinas Cooney, born Oct. 5, 1950, in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.
Cooney was a Vietnam War veteran and a Bronze Star recipient, but little is known about his life or the circumstances of his death shared the Ventura County Sheriff's Office.
Anyone with more information about Cooney's whereabouts before the discovery of his remains is asked to contact the Ventura County Sheriff's Cold Case Unit at 805-383-8739 or via email at coldcase@venturacounty.gov.
