California man, an Army veteran, identified as body found 27 years ago in Arizona desert

Authorities said Tuesday that the body of a California man was identified more than 27 years after it was discovered in a northwest Arizona desert area.

According to Mohave County Sheriff’s officials, the remains of a man aged 30 to 40 were discovered near Kingman in January 1996. According to officials, the man, now identified as Sherman George from the Los Angeles area, died from a gunshot wound to the head, was buried in a shallow grave, and may have been a homicide victim.

Attempts to identify the remains were futile until February, when sheriff’s investigators sent a DNA sample to a forensic research firm in Texas.

Using advanced DNA testing, scientists identified the man as George, an Army veteran who was known to frequent the deserts of California and Arizona with his military friends prior to his death, according to sheriff’s officials.

They claimed that George was estranged from his family, who had last seen him in late 1994, and that he had never been reported missing.