PLYMOUTH TOWNSHIP, MI (Tribune News Service) — Skeletal remains found abandoned in Michigan 28 years ago have been identified this week as Benjamin Harrison Fountain, a World War II veteran who was born in Virginia in 1926 and later lived in West Virginia and Detroit.

A man interested in purchasing property found the remains rolled up in a carpet in a field off Haggerty Road in Plymouth Township in May 1997.

Police began investigating the death, and determined the remains were an adult male that likely died via homicide. Clothing and jewelry were also found, as was a .357 slug.

The news marks the end of a decades-long effort to confirm the man’s identity that included traditional DNA testing in 2015 that resulted in zero matches.

“This case may have seemed hopeless in the past, but there is technology here today that works, and it may be able to bring answers to a lot of families in situations like this,” said Kristen Mittelman, Chief Development Officer for Othram, the company that analyzed the DNA.

“This was a World War II veteran who finally got his name back and was laid to rest.”

In 2022, investigators with the Plymouth Township Police Department teamed with Othram to determine if advanced DNA testing could help to identify the long-unidentified John Doe.

Forensic evidence was submitted to Othram’s laboratory in The Woodlands, Texas where DNA was extracted from the skeletal evidence.

An ultra-sensitive, comprehensive DNA profile was developed and allowed scientists to confirm that the unknown man’s ancestry was African.

The profile was submitted for forensic matching allowing Othram’s in-house forensic genetic genealogy team to develop new leads about the man’s identity.

The leads were provided to law enforcement, who spearheaded a follow-up investigation leading to a potential relative of the man, who provided a reference DNA sample.

Fountain was finally laid to rest at Our Lady of Hope Cemetery in Brownstown, Mich., on May 18.

His positive ID marks the 19th case in Michigan where authorities used technology developed by Othram to assist in identifying an individual.

An investigation into Fountain’s death continues. Anyone with information is asked to contact Plymouth Township Police by calling (734) 354-3250.

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