S. Oregon Coast Authorities ID Body in 1972 Cold Case

Published 07/29/2026 at 8:55 p.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Coos Bay, Oregon) - According to the Coos County Sheriff's Office, investigators on the south Oregon coast have identified a man whose remains were found more than five decades ago near Highway 101 in Coos County. It closes one of Oregon’s oldest cold cases through advanced forensic genetic genealogy. (Graphics courtesy CCSO)

The Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office Human Identification Program, working with the Coos County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Unit, confirmed the identity this week.

“After decades of stalled leads and inconclusive testing, advanced forensic genetic genealogy finally provided the answers investigators had long sought, revealing the decedent as Armes Henry Lahti,” said the CCSO.

Lahti, the office said, was born in 1909. His skeletal remains were discovered on August 26, 1972, in a brushy area north of the Highway 42 junction. Dentures and clothing were found at the scene at the time, but none offered clues to his identity. The case was treated as a homicide, but with no other means back then to pursue the facts it became a cold case.

For years, investigators attempted to match DNA and other evidence. A 2014 CODIS upload produced no results, and later efforts using SNP profiling failed due to insufficient DNA. That changed in 2025, when the Cold Case Unit submitted additional evidence to Othram, Inc. The lab successfully generated an SNP profile showing the man was of entirely Finnish ancestry. The profile was forwarded to the FBI, which developed a likely candidate.

Family reference testing then confirmed the match.

State Forensic Anthropologist Hailey Collord-Stalder said the identification reflects decades of persistence and scientific progress.

“This long-awaited identification reflects years of dedicated work, collaborative science, and advances in modern genetic genealogy,” she said. “This outcome would not be possible without the ongoing cooperation among multiple law enforcement agencies, private scientific partners, and volunteers committed to resolving cold cases.”

CCSO said less than one percent of cold cases are solved.

“Sometimes though, advances in technology, new information or a stroke of luck allows for a cold case to be reopened,” the office said on social.

The office glad to share more about the man – who he was beyond a crime victim.

Lahti was from Astoria – on the north Oregon coast.

“Armes was an avid fisherman and a Navy Veteran, who joined and served during World War II,” the office said. “Affectionately known as 'Mousy' because he was anything but, Armes’ family said he was a large, gentle man who loved the sea and was proud of his service to his country.”

The Coos County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Unit continues to investigate and asks anyone with information to contact an investigator at 541-396-7800.

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