A man buried in a shallow grave off Interstate 40 near Lake Havasu City has finally been identified more than three decades after his death. The Mohave County Sheriff’s Office says the remains, discovered March 11, 1992, belong to Willie Blanton Mills, a man originally from Pennsylvania who was living with relatives in Santa Ana, California, when he vanished.
Mills was weeks away from turning 37 when his body was found, according to the sheriff’s office, and his family had not seen or heard from him since 1992. As reported by azcentral.com and The Arizona Republic, an autopsy at the time could not establish how he died, but investigators classified his death as a homicide based on the condition of his body.
Decades of Dead Ends
For years, detectives had little to go on. His fingerprints were searched against local and national databases, but according to dnasolves.com, no match was ever found. X-rays had revealed a metal pin extending from his right knee to his ankle, recovered from his right tibia, and investigators traced the hardware’s brand and serial number through its manufacturer — but that lead also failed to produce his identity.
The case sat unsolved for more than three decades. Othram received a DNA extract in March 2026, developed a DNA profile and provided it to law enforcement. The profile was uploaded to law enforcement databases; NamUs offered investigators funding in June 2026 for DNA testing and a forensic genetic genealogy investigation.
A Relative Finally Comes Forward
The FBI’s forensic genetic genealogy search generated new investigative leads, connecting the unidentified man to a relative who reported that Willie Blanton Mills had been missing since 1992, per the same account. On October 21, Mohave County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Unit investigators received confirmation from the FBI that the man had been positively identified as Mills. The FBI Latent Print Unit independently confirmed the identification through fingerprint analysis and the earlier discovery of the pin in his right leg following a prior injury.
The identification marks the 20th publicly announced case in Arizona in which investigators have used Othram’s technology to identify an individual, according to the same dnasolves.com report. Even with Mills’ name restored, the sheriff’s statement makes clear that investigators do not yet know how he was killed or how he came to be buried in Mohave County.
How the Timeline Is Described
Coverage of the case has varied slightly on how long Mills’ identity remained unknown. The seed report from azcentral.com and The Arizona Republic describes him as found dead 33 years ago, while havasunews.com reported that the remains were discovered more than 34 years ago. Mohave County’s own statement ties the discovery to the specific date of March 11, 1992.
The Mohave County Sheriff’s Office is asking anyone with information about Mills or the circumstances of his death to call 928-753-0753, extension 4408, and reference case number DR#92-03547.
