Oregon Cold Case Finally Solved After DNA Identifies Man Found Near Portland Cemetery

With the help of advances made in DNA technology, the fully skeletonized remains of a man found in a wooded area of Southwest Portland in 2004 have been positively identified as Robert Lee Horton, a 47-year-old man from Hawaii who had been living in Portland at the time of his death.

Southwest Portland Skeletal Remains Finally Identified

Two people exploring a wooded area near Riverview Cemetery notified local law enforcement after they discovered Horton’s remains on December 19, 2004. A

fabric lean-to, cooking pans, food items, and clothing were discovered along with the human skeletal remains.

The cause and manner of death remained undetermined, but the autopsy and skeletal examination concluded the decedent was a white male adult between the ages of 45 and 55 years old at the time of death and estimated to be between 5’6” and 5’9” tall.

Despite DNA entry into CODIS and NamUs in 2010, the case stayed cold for years as no matches could be found on traditional databases.

A breakthrough in 2018 through a federal grant allowed the State Medical Examiner to utilize Parabon NanoLabs for advanced SNP DNA profiling and genetic genealogy.

In 2022, distant relatives were identified. In late 2025, the Human Identification Program reopened the case. After researchers identified Horton as a candidate in early 2026, investigators contacted his family. They had lost contact after he moved to Portland in 2004.

After obtaining a reference sample from Horton’s mother, a Kinship Inference Report in April 2026 confirmed a 100 percent parental match, finally closing the decades-old mystery through the persistence of investigative genetic genealogy. Sadly, his mother passed away a short time later.