6 March 2024
NEOSHO RAPIDS, Kan. (KSNW) — Authorities have identified a man whose skull was found in Lyon County in 2017.
On April 29 of that year, the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office responded to the west side of Neosho Rapids after someone found a human skull on the banks of the Neosho River. Investigators were not able to immediately identify the person, so details about the case were added to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs).
In 2018, the FBI laboratory in Quantico conducted DNA analysis on the remains but was unsuccessful in identifying the man. In 2022, The sheriff’s office partnered with Ortham, a company that specializes in genetic genealogy, to help solve cold case homicides, disappearances, and unidentified bodies.
The sheriff’s office says Ortham was able to develop a comprehensive DNA profile of the man. Using that information, they were able to conduct a genetic genealogy search.
Detective Sergeant Travis Mishler says investigators contacted a potential relative, and follow-up DNA testing with relatives confirmed the man’s identity as Randy Bruce Clayton, born October 12, 1953.
Mishler says Clayton’s death is still under investigation, and no further details will be released.