Skeletal remains found by dog walkers in a wooded area of Sanford back in 1997 finally have a name: John Richard Mullis, who was reported missing from Orange County in January of that year. For nearly three decades, investigators had nothing but a set of unidentified bones and a homicide they couldn't solve. Now, thanks to advanced DNA testing, Sanford police know who he was — though the person responsible for his death is still out there.
According to the Sanford Police Department, Mullis was originally from Wisconsin and had been living in an apartment in Orange County before he vanished. As reported by WESH, police say new technology enabling more advanced DNA testing is what finally allowed them to put a name to the remains discovered by people walking their dog near the wooded site. Investigators have confirmed Mullis's death was a homicide, and the case remains active as detectives work to identify who killed him.
Identifying the Victim Is Only Half the Battle
Naming Mullis closes one chapter of a 29-year mystery, but it opens a much harder one. Sanford police still need to retrace a trail that went cold in January 1997, piecing together what happened after Mullis was reported missing from Orange County and how he ended up in the Sanford woods. Anyone with information about the homicide is being asked to come forward.
That appeal for public help routes through Crimeline, the Central Florida tip service whose stated mission is to increase community safety by assisting law enforcement in removing undesirable individuals. Tipsters can call 800-423-TIPS (8477) or submit information through the organization's online tip form, and Crimeline pays eligible rewards to anonymous tipsters, with payouts of up to $1,000 for information leading to a felony arrest.
A Program Rooted in 1977 Albuquerque
Central Florida's Crimeline program dates back to July 1977, when it launched under the name Crimewatch, modeled after the first Crime Stoppers program founded in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Today the organization serves more than 55 law enforcement agencies across the region, according to its own program background, offering cash rewards up to $1,000 for tips on felony arrests and specialized rewards as high as $5,000 in homicide cases.
Sanford's Second Cold Case Breakthrough in Two Years
This isn't the first time new DNA science has cracked open a decades-old Sanford mystery. In July 2024, Sanford police announced an arrest in the 1999 murder of 39-year-old Sherry Holtz after preserved evidence was re-tested using upgraded capabilities, leading to the arrest of suspect Gary Durrance — a case Hoodline covered at the time of arrest. That case ended in June 2026 when a Seminole County jury took just eight minutes to convict Durrance of second-degree murder, a verdict Hoodline reported after the victim's son spoke publicly about forgiving his mother's killer.
The Mullis identification also fits a broader pattern across Florida, where lawmakers and prosecutors have poured new money into cold case science. CS/SB 678 created the Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy Grant Program, which includes $500,000 in nonrecurring funds for fiscal year 2024-2025. FDLE must award funds specially appropriated for the program to help agencies generate the high-density DNA profiles — requiring 100,000 or more genetic markers — needed to crack these cases, according to The Florida Senate. Florida had more than 21,000 unsolved murders and nearly 900 unidentified-human-remains cases.
More recently, Florida established a statewide partnership with Othram focused on cold-case DNA and homicide investigations.
Any DNA profile generated from crime scene evidence is also continually cross-checked against the state's growing CODIS database, since Florida law requires agencies to collect DNA samples from anyone booked on felony charges. For now, though, the Mullis case hinges less on databases and more on memory — on someone who may still recall Mullis, a 29-year-old man originally from Wisconsin who was reported missing from Orange County in the early days of 1997 and never came home.
