Skeletal remains at construction site belong to Washington man who disappeared in 1996

Skeletal remains that were found near a Washington construction site in 2007 were recently identified as those of a man last seen in 1996, police said in a news release.

A construction crew found the remains of Douglas Virgil Priester III at a building site in Redmond. Detectives investigating the case said the remains “had been there for quite some time,” the Redmond Police Department said.

The King County Medical Examiners Office determined that the remains belonged to a white man under 50 years old. Police went through missing persons reports and dental records but were unable to find a match. The case went cold until technological advancements allowed police to better identify the man, the news release said.

In late 2021, a detective on the case started working with a genetic genealogist to investigate the remains. The genealogist used DNA technology to identify the remains by this April, the release said.

Priester was about 30 years old at the time of his disappearance, police said. He had no reported permanent address when he died, and officials have not determined the circumstances and cause of his death, the release said.

“We believe every person deserves to return to their family,” Redmond Detective C. Mitchell said. “We hope this will bring some closure to a tragic chapter in his family’s life.”

Redmond is about 15 miles northeast of Seattle.

This story was originally published May 10, 2022 at 1:03 PM with the headline "Skeletal remains at construction site belong to Washington man who disappeared in 1996."