After more than a decade, remains discovered in southern Minnesota have finally been matched to World War II veteran Luis Gilberto Robledo, according to CBS News Minnesota.
The DNA Doe Project identified Robledo’s remains and provided an update on the case to news outlets on Dec. 17. The project was established in 2017 and has taken on over 250 cases involving unidentified remains. The DNA Doe Project was one of the first organizations to successfully use genetic genealogy to properly ID several Jane and Jon Does.
“At DNA Doe Project, we don’t just take on the ‘easy’ cases — we accept those from every community, regardless of circumstance, racial or gender identity, or cause of death,” the project’s website states.
“It can take months or years to identify these individuals, but we don’t give up. We believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to maintain their name and identity, even in death. We work every day to make that reality.”
Several challenges prevented the organization from properly identifying the WWII veteran earlier, such as his age, which was originally estimated to be in the 40s or 50s at the time of death, along with the fact that Robledo had no obvious ties to Minnesota.
Robledo’s skeletal remains were discovered close to a SuperAmerica gas station in Albert Lea off Interstate 90 in April 2015. At the time, local detectives thought the cause of death was suspicious.
According to the DNA Doe Project, several items were found near the remains, including pants, loafers, and a 10-karat gold ring featuring a ruby-colored stone, along with a few coins produced between 1965 to 1992. Initially, investigators at the Freeborn County Sheriff’s Office in Minnesota believed the man’s age was between 40 and 55 when he died.
Questions Lead to Answers
But how did the remains get there? And who did they belong to?
With so many questions swirling, the sheriff’s office asked the DNA Doe Project for assistance in solving the case. Genetic genealogists there found the unidentified male was Mexican, and they were pleasantly surprised to discover he had “a number of close matches in the GEDmatch database,” according to team co-leader Jeana Feehery, who worked on the case.
“Hispanic cases are often tough because that population is underrepresented in the DNA databases we have access to,” Feehery said in a press release.
“We were lucky to have close DNA matches on both the mother’s side and the father’s side, which allowed us to identify our John Doe’s parents within 24 hours.”
Researchers found that Robledo was born in 1923 in El Paso, Texas, and died sometime between 2000 and 2012. They also believe his remains could have been in Albert Lea one to five years before they were found.
Not much is known about Robledo’s military service. He was a World War II veteran, suffering injuries in the D-Day invasion of Normandy, France, in 1944. Sometime after the war, Robledo moved to Los Angeles. His final residence, based on public records, indicated he was living in Mexico in 1990.
Much of Life Still a Mystery
Researchers from the DNA Doe Project expressed surprise when they learned Robledo was really much older at the time of his death, likely in his 70s or 80s.
“We were very surprised,” Team co-leader Lisa Ivany said in a statement. “The discrepancy with the age estimate was significant, but the DNA evidence clearly pointed to our John Doe being Luis Robledo.”
Team members reached out to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to help them connect to Robledo’s next of kin. They contacted one of his children, who sent them a positive DNA sample.
Project officials are still trying to determine exactly when the veteran died and when he came to Minnesota.
Robledo’s case took hours of expensive lab work, and the DNA Doe Project received aid from a “generous donor” to identify the remains. A number of state and federal agencies also lent a hand, including the Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office, Freeborn County Sheriff’s Office, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
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