Body Found in Arizona in 1975 Identified as Minnesota Vietnam Vet

Flagstaff, AZ (KROC-AM News)  - Authorities in Arizona say a DNA profile has identified human remains that were found nearly 50 years ago in the Flagstaff area as a Vietnam veteran from Minnesota.

The Coconino County Sheriff's Office, with assistance from Intermountain Forensics, the FBI and the Coconino County Medical Examiner's Office, has announced that it was the remains of Minnesota native Gerald Francis Long that were found by farmers chasing the runaway pig on April 19, 1975.  A news release says the only identified remains became known as Munsingwear Doe because a Munsingwear brand jacket was found with the body.

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The Sheriff's Office says a genetic genealogy DNA profile developed by Intermountain Forensics was compared with existing profiles available in genealogy databases and was matched with a relative of Gerald Long. The tentative identification was eventually verified by the FBI Latent Print Unit and the DNA profile was directly compared to a DNA sample from a member of Long's family earlier this month.

A surviving family member told Arizona detectives that Long enlisted in the Army in 1969 and was deployed to Vietnam later that year. He eventually returned to Minnesota in 1972 and was discharged by the Army. The news release indicates he was last seen by his family in October 1972 when he told them he was leaving Minnesota to travel to the West Coast.

The cause of his death remains undetermined. The Coconino Sheriff's Office did not provide information about Long's hometown and indicated the family asked that their request for privacy be honored.

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