PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – More than 30 years ago, workers clearing brush under North Portland’s St. John’s Bridge found fully skeletonized remains.

While law enforcement and the Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office responded to the scene and conducted a death investigation, the case remained cold until October 2025.

On Monday, Oregon State Police announced that the remains were identified as Bryant Edward Deane, who is believed to have been 39 years old at the time of his death.

In Monday’s announcement, OSP said Deane’s remains were found with a maroon fleece-lined jacket, dark denim pants, MacGregor brand ankle boots and gray and brown cotton gloves, which suggest he died during winter.

Towards the beginning of the death investigation, the Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office determined that the remains likely belonged to a white male who was around 50 years old and between 5’2” and 5’5” tall.

Officials also found arthritic changes and several fractures to the skeleton — especially on the left side of the body, which OSP said suggests that the man may have fallen from the bridge or was struck by a vehicle and thrown from the bridge.

The medical examiner’s office then noted a difference in leg length – indicating the man would have walked with a limp and estimated that he had been dead for about one year before the remains were discovered.

Despite these initial findings, authorities found no leads to the man’s identity and the case went cold. However, similar to other cases of unidentified remains, progress in the investigation was made over the years with advancements in genetic genealogy.

According to OSP, in 2011, a profile for the unidentified remains were uploaded to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. However, no DNA matches were found.

Later, in 2019, more extensive short tandem repeat DNA testing was completed, adding to Deane’s profile. Despite these efforts, OSP said, there were still no matches.

In February 2024, the Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office partnered with the DNA Doe Project, a nonprofit that secured funding for advanced DNA extraction and sequencing.

This led to March 2025, when forensics research lab Astrea Forensics uploaded an enhanced genetic profile of the remains, which revealed North Atlantic, Baltic, and western Mediterranean heritage. From there, volunteers with the DNA Doe project started the process of investigative genetic genealogy.

In June, the profile was uploaded to the FamilyTreeDNA database to search for additional matches. Volunteers started narrowing the search by researching family records, old newspaper clippings and other sources to help identify the remains.

By August, authorities said they found a potential match and possible relatives to contact.

According to OSP, the medical examiner’s office reached out to the man’s presumed brother, who had not been in contact with him since the mid-to-late 1970s and agreed to provide a DNA sample for comparison.

In October, the office confirmed Deane’s identity, noting the cause and manner of his death remain undetermined.

“This case was cold for 33 years,” said Hailey Collord-Stalder, forensic anthropologist with the Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office. “Bryant’s parents passed in 2017 and 2019, respectively, never knowing what happened to their son. His family left a space for him on their headstone; now he can finally be laid to rest with his family.”