After more than four decades without a name, a set of skeletal remains found in Blount County has finally been identified as William Thomas Green. Hunters discovered the body in the East Miller’s Cove area in 1981, and despite earlier DNA testing and national database entries, the case stayed a John Doe for years. New forensic genetic genealogy work from a Texas lab pointed investigators to relatives who, authorities say, confirmed Green’s identity and allowed his family to be notified.
State initiative pushed fresh testing
As part of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s Unidentified Human Remains Initiative, agents teamed up with the Blount County Sheriff’s Office in 2025 to send a portion of the remains for specialized genealogical sequencing, according to the TBI. The program routes long-stalled cases to genome-level testing when traditional methods run out of steam and lists the Blount County discovery as dating to April 4, 1981.
Earlier DNA work and national uploads
Back in 2007, University of Tennessee forensic staff submitted a sample from the remains to the University of Texas Center for Human Identification. The lab built a DNA profile and uploaded it into CODIS and NamUs, as reported by WVLT. Those entries generated no match at the time, leaving the case cold until the more recent genealogical analysis finally produced usable leads.
Othram identifies potential relatives
In a public statement, Othram said its scientists “identified potential relatives connected to the man,” and investigators used family reference samples to confirm that the remains were those of William Thomas Green, per Othram. Kristen Mittelman, Othram’s chief development officer, said the family “now has answers after almost 45 years,” while officials noted that the investigation into how Green died is still very much active.
Investigators seek tips
Detectives are asking anyone who might know something about the case to contact the Blount County Sheriff’s Office at 865-273-5001 or 865-273-5200, according to WVLT. Local authorities and the TBI say the new genetic break could open up fresh investigative paths for a case that has lingered unsolved for generations.
Where this fits in the statewide effort
The Blount County identification is one of several case resolutions emerging from the TBI initiative, which launched in 2022 and has expanded testing capacity with additional funding to send difficult remains for forensic genetic genealogy, according to the TBI. Putting names to unidentified victims does not always explain how they died, but it often opens new investigative angles and finally gives families information they have been missing for decades.
