Armas Henry Lahti, WWII Veteran, Identified Decades After Disappearance Through Genetic Genealogy
The remains of Armas Henry Lahti, a World War II Navy veteran and commercial fisherman who vanished around 1965, have been identified through genetic genealogy. His body was discovered in 1972 in the woods of Bandon, Oregon, with two bullet wounds to the head, indicating homicidal violence. The identification came after FBI Special Agent Meagan Sharp contacted Sandra Kalander, a second cousin of Lahti's husband, John, following a family match from an ancestry test taken by Kalander's deceased son, Robert. Investigators, including Deputy Chancy Fabrizio, had faced significant challenges over decades due to the body's decomposition, lack of a missing person report, and Lahti's independent lifestyle as a traveling fisherman. The FBI and the Oregon Cold Case Collective utilized genetic genealogy, building a family tree through public records and family interviews, to confirm Lahti's identity in June. 
