A 19-year-old who vanished on his bicycle in 1988 has his name back, thanks in part to DNA work done at a Woodlands lab.

James Homer Wright, a member of the Pit River Tribe, disappeared from Redding, California, on Nov. 23, 1988. He left a family member's home on his bicycle, told them he was heading to a nearby gas station and never returned. He was 19 years old.

Nearly two years later, on Oct. 20, 1990, a crew collecting garbage along the Sacramento River found partial skeletal remains on a small island near Redding. A duffel bag and additional remains turned up on the riverbank across from the island.

The Shasta County Coroner's Office determined the remains belonged to a young man between 18 and 26 years old. His ancestry was assessed as Hispanic/Latino or American Indian/Alaska Native. The case sat unresolved for decades, entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as case UP80853.

DNA and a pair of shoes

In January 2025, the Shasta County Coroner's Office sent forensic evidence to Othram's laboratory in The Woodlands, KHOU 11 reported. Othram, founded in 2018 by David Mittelman, specializes in extracting DNA from old or degraded evidence.

Scientists at the lab used a process called Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing to build a detailed DNA profile from the decades-old remains. Othram's forensic genetic genealogy team then used that profile to generate investigative leads for law enforcement.

But the breakthrough wasn't DNA alone. During the investigation, a woman recognized shoes shown in a photograph tied to the NamUs case and contacted authorities. That tip, combined with family DNA samples and additional investigative work, confirmed the remains belonged to Wright, according to Othram's case summary.

Operation Spirit Return

The identification was part of Operation Spirit Return, an initiative launched by the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Office of Justice Services. The program's Missing and Murdered Unit works to identify unknown human remains found within or near Indian country that are believed to belong to American Indian or Alaska Native people. The Bureau of Indian Affairs launched Operation Spirit Return in February 2025, with Othram among the organizations collaborating with the Missing and Murdered Unit.

In a January 2026 article about Othram's work with the BIA, ICT cited an earlier interview in which Mittelman said the lab's sequencing technology "allows us to create a highly detailed DNA profile even from old, degraded or tiny evidence."

Wright's case marks the 88th publicly announced identification in California using Othram's technology, according to the lab's case summary.