Remains found near Lake Havasu City have been identified as a Santa Ana man missing since 1992.
The sheriff’s department in Mohave County, Ariz. was initially notified of the remains in March 1992, when the body was found in a shallow grave off Interstate 40 in a wash near Needles Mountain Road. Deputies found the body buried and partially uncovered by animals, but an autopsy could not establish a cause of death.
Based on the condition of the body, investigators at the time classified the death as a homicide, according to the Mohave County Sheriff’s Department.
For decades, the identity of the man remained unknown. But this year, Special Investigations Unit investigators, in partnership with the FBI, conducted a forensic “genetic genealogy” probe. That type of investigation combines forensic DNA analysis with family tree research to identify suspects in cold cases or resolve the identity of human remains.
On Oct. 21, authorities positively identified the remains as Willie Blanton Mills, who was born in 1955 and has been missing for 34 years.
Investigators still do not know how Mills was killed or how his body ended up in Mohave County. Mills, who was from Pennsylvania, was reportedly living with relatives in Santa Ana at the time of his disappearance, authorities said.
A relative found during the forensic genetic genealogy investigation confirmed that Mills had not been seen since 1992, authorities said.
Prior to DNA technology, detectives had attempted to identify the body using fingerprint databases and by cross-referencing the source of a metal pin found in the man’s right leg during the autopsy. But tracing the brand and serial number back to the manufacturer of the pin did not lead them to a positive identification of the body, the sheriff’s department said.
NamUs, a national resource center for missing and unidentified person cases across the country, offered funding to resume the search in June 2026 with DNA testing. Investigators sent samples to DNA sequencing company Othram Inc. to create a DNA profile of the victim for law enforcement to reference.
Following the genealogy investigation, the FBI confirmed Mills’s identity through fingerprints and by confirming that Mills had a pin in his right leg from a prior injury, which aligned with the original evidence found among the remains, authorities said.
Anyone with information about the case is encouraged to contact investigators at (928) 753-0753 ext. 4408.