Remains found 2 years ago identified as man missing for 4 years, Tennessee officials say
.jpg "Investigators identified skeletal remains found in Tennessee nearly two years ago as belonging to a man missing for four years, according to an Oct. 4 press release by Othram, a forensic genetic genealogy company.")
After nearly two years of research on mysterious skeletal remains discovered in Tennessee, investigators confirmed an identity, according to a press release.
Othram, a Texas-based company specializing in forensic genetic genealogy, said in the Oct. 4 release the bones belonged to Cody Wilhite, a man who went missing from the Knoxville area in 2020.
Wilhite was reported missing when he was 29, according to data from the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. The last time he spoke to his family was May 10, 2020.
“Would give just about anything to hear 2 little words right now…’hello momma,’” Wilhite’s mom, Frankie Wilhite, said in a Facebook post in November 2020.
The Knoxville Police Department told McClatchy News Wilhite was unhoused at the time he was reported missing and “had been staying in the mission area on N. Broadway when his mother last spoke with him.”
Almost exactly two years later, bones — now identified as Cody Wilhite’s — were discovered by a tree trimming service in Knoxville, according to officials.
When investigators arrived at the scene, they could only conduct a limited search of the surrounding area because of the landscape, officials said.
Experts at the Knox County Regional Forensic Center reported finding a human skull belonging to a male between the ages of 20 and 35 years.
Later that year, the case went cold due to a lack of investigative leads.
In 2023, the forensic center submitted evidence to Othram for scientists to conduct further genetic genealogy research.
Officials said the remains were identified using the National Missing and Unidentified Persons Systems database.
It’s unclear how he died or how long his remains had been there. Wilhite’s death was listed as undetermined by the regional forensic center due to the lack of remains recovered, the Knoxville Police Department said.
Over 600,000 people go missing in the United States each year, and around 4,400 bodies are retrieved, according to the NamUS database. Currently, Tennessee is listed among the top 10 states with open missing person cases.
This story was originally published October 8, 2024 at 8:06 AM with the headline "Remains found 2 years ago identified as man missing for 4 years, Tennessee officials say."
