A Washington man disappeared in 1995. His remains were just identified, sheriff says
A 29-year-old Washington man vanished in 1995, the sheriff’s office said.
A DNA analysis of remains found in Marion, Montana, in 2003 were recently identified as Steven Gooch, the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release on Feb. 7.
He was from Bothell.
Gooch’s family told authorities he was in San Diego, California, and headed to Las Vegas when they last spoke to him — 27 years ago, the release states.
But they never heard from him again. In 1996, they filed a missing person report.
Then the DNA Doe Project matched the missing man’s DNA profile with his father’s DNA after working on the case for three years, the sheriff’s office said
“Our sincere condolences go out to the family during this time, and we hope that this identification will help bring closure to them,” the sheriff’s office said. “We also hope to be able to provide more answers about the last days of Steven Gooch’s life.”
If anyone has information about this investigation, contact the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office Detectives Division at 406-758-5600 or email tips@flathead.mt.gov.
This story was originally published February 11, 2022 at 1:08 PM with the headline "A Washington man disappeared in 1995. His remains were just identified, sheriff says."
