HAMILTON — Human remains were discovered by hikers near St. Mary's Mountain in Stevensville 14 years ago. Today, those remains have been identified.
The Ravalli County Sheriff's Office reports the human remains are those of Illinois native and former U.S. Marine John J. Spratt.
Details of the case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) and he became known as Ravalli County Doe. Despite extensive efforts to try and identify the remains, no matches were found.
The Missoula County Sheriff's Office submitted forensic evidence to Othram in The Woodlands, Texas in 2023 to determine if advanced DNA testing could help identify the individual.
DNA extract from the evidence gave law enforcement enough information to reach out to potential relatives, which led to the positive identification.
Spratt's family has been notified and he will be laid to rest during a United States Marine Corps Funeral Honors Ceremony.
Ravalli County Sheriff Steve Holton is thanking everyone who helped in the investigation, especially Othram, the National Institute of Justice, the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office and the Montana State Crime Laboratory.
The identification of Spratt marks the seventh case in the State of Montana where officials have publicly identified an individual using technology developed by Othram.
