“So many mysteries are being answered through advances in forensics and technology.  Importantly, families who have been waiting years are receiving information and some closure.  Thank you to California DOJ criminalists and their forensic partners for conducting this very important work.”

CSLEA President Alan Barcelona

ALAMEDA COUNTY – On July 30, 2025, the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office announced that partial human remains found in 2008 and 2011 belong to the same person and now, years later, the remains have been identified.

In September 2008, the partial skeletal remains of an unidentified individual were found floating in the Alameda Marina. The remains were found with a white or gray sock and a size 8.5 Vision brand “skateboarder” type shoe. In July 2011, additional skeletal remains were located floating in the estuary near the 2000 block of Embarcadero. The cause and manner of death were undetermined due to only a partial skeletal finding.

Through DNA comparison, both sets of skeletal remains were found to belong to the same individual. Despite extensive investigative efforts, the decedent’s identity was unknown until now.

In 2024, Deputy Karen Easling, Sheriff’s Technician Brandi Foscalina, and the California Department of Justice began working with Othram to employ advanced forensic DNA analysis. Forensic evidence was sent to Othram, and Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing was used to build a comprehensive DNA profile suitable for forensic genetic genealogy. Othram’s in-house forensic genetic genealogy team then used the profile in a genetic genealogy investigation to develop new leads in the case. With this information, investigators conducted follow-up inquiries that led them to potential relatives of the unidentified person. KinSNP Rapid Relationship Testing was then used to compare the comprehensive DNA profile to that of a potential relative. The KinSNP analysis helped confirm a genetic relationship, leading to the identification of the decedent.

In late June of 2025, almost 17 years later, the remains were identified as Esteban Pablo Pablo, a 20-year-old man who was last seen alive in Alameda County in 2007. Since the identification, Deputy Easling and S/T Foscalina have worked diligently with Pablo Pablo’s family to help reunite him with his family in Honduras.