San Joaquin County cold case victim identified as Michigan man after 43 years
A homicide victim whose body was found in a Central California orchard decades ago has finally been identified, authorities say.
The man's body was found by a farmer near French Camp and Jack Tone roads back in April 1982.
Detectives with the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office have tried to decades to positively identify the man, putting his case into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System as UP68492.
However, only recently did advances in forensic DNA technology help crack the case.
On Wednesday, the sheriff's office announced that the man had been identified as Danny Joe Jentzen.
Authorities learned that Jentzen, who was 27 when he died, was originally from Flint, Michigan. Family also told detectives that Jentzen grew up a ward of the state and apparently struggled with mental health.
Jentzen's sister last saw him as a child, family told detectives.
Detectives say Jentzen's killing remains unsolved. Anyone with information in connection to his disappearance and death are urged to contact the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office.