Mary Annette Pember
ICT
The remains of a man found in Pinal County, Arizona, have been identified through DNA testing as 35-year-old Glenn Thomas Tate Jr., who disappeared in 2020.
Tate, a citizen of the Gila River Indian Community and a descendant of the White Mountain Apache Tribe, was last seen on July 22, 2020, in Sacaton, Arizona, where he was seeking medical treatment at a facility on the Gila River Reservation.
His skeletal remains were found in 2024 in a desert area a few miles from Sacaton. His family could not be reached for comment.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs Missing and Murdered Unit and the Pinal County Medical Examiner’s Office teamed with the Texas-based Othram company to use DNA testing to positively identify the remains.
Othram, which works with the BIA as part of its Operation Spirit Return, announced the findings this month.
Scientists at Othram developed a DNA extract from Tate’s remains and then used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing, known as FGGS, to build a comprehensive profile.
Othram’s in-house forensic genetic genealogy team used the profile to develop investigative leads that were turned over to law enforcement.
“FGGS allows us to create a highly detailed DNA profile even from old, degraded or tiny evidence,” David Mittleman, CEO of Othram, told ICT in a previous interview about its work with the BIA.
Othram began working with the BIA Missing and Murdered Unit in 2022 as part of Operation Spirit Return, which was launched by the BIA Office of Justice Services and handled by the Missing and Murdered Unit,
Operation Spirit Return seeks to identify unknown human remains that have been located within or close to Indian Country and that are believed to belong to either American Indian or Alaska Native persons.
The identification of Tate represents the 15th case in Arizona where officials have publicly identified an individual using technology developed by Othram, according to a statement released by the company.
Based on forensic evidence found with Tate’s then-unidentified remains in 2024, the Pinal County Medical Examiner was unable to determine a cause of death.
The investigation is being handled by the BIA’s Missing and Murdered Unit, which did not reply to ICT’s email regarding the status of the case.