Human Remains Found Near Tennessee Highway Identified After 20 Years

Human remains discovered over 20 years ago near a Knoxville, Tennessee, interstate highway have now been identified with genetic testing, according to an announcement by the Knox County government on Monday.
The remains were originally found in November of 2003, when the Knoxville Police Department began investigating after someone noticed a body on I-275 at the Woodlawn entrance ramp.
The Knoxville Police Department, along with an anthropology team from the University of Tennessee, conducted the initial recovery and examination of the remains. It is unclear in what state the body was in when found.
Despite their efforts, identifying the remains proved challenging.
However, on Monday the remains, confirmed by genetic testing, were said to belong to Brian A. Sanderson, a 54-year-old originally from Vermont.
“Remains discovered in Knoxville more than two decades ago were recently identified through the use of advanced genetic testing and the hard work of the Knox County Regional Forensic Center, the Knoxville Police Department, the University of Tennessee Forensic Anthropology Center, and others,” the Knox County Regional Forensic Center said in a post on Facebook.
The Knox County Regional Forensic Center, who in conjunction with local law enforcement, has helped identify dozens of cold cases during the past couple of years,
Newsweek reached out to the Knox County Regional Forensic Center via email on Monday for comment.
According to the Associated Press (AP), Chris Thomas, the administrator at the Knox County Regional Forensic Center, shared the new details about the remains but declined to comment on the cause of Sanderson’s death or how long he had been in Tennessee.
“We work diligently every day to try to identify every decedent and connect them with their next of kin, regardless of how long they’ve been here,” Thomas said in a Facebook post. “We want the families to have closure.”
A DNA sample of the remains was submitted to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System in 2008, but it wasn’t until recent advancements in forensic methods that a breakthrough was made.
In 2017, the Regional Forensic Center resumed the investigation, determining that the remains belonged to a white male, approximately 5 feet tall and between the ages of 40 and 60.
Finally in 2022, Knox County secured a federal grant to hire Othram, a private company known for solving cold cases through DNA analysis and genealogy. Othram then successfully identified Sanderson.
“I want to thank everyone involved, particularly our own Regional Forensic Center, which is an incredible county asset,” Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs said in a Facebook post. “The staff is skilled and I’m grateful for the care they put into the job they do. They always work to make sure no one is forgotten or neglected.”