Police identify mystery man found in bush in remote Kimberley as Gary John Schmidt using genetic genealogy

The identity of a mystery man whose body was found in bushland beside a remote Kimberley highway almost a decade ago has finally been solved using a pioneering forensic method. Police were alerted to the human remains found on Victoria Highway, about 3km east of the Aboriginal community of Cockatoo Springs near Kununurra, in June 2015. A forensic examination confirmed they belonged to an adult male, however, due to the decomposition of his body, the identity of the man could not be established and the mystery remained unsolved. That was until recently when the missing persons team used genetic genealogy — the same technique used to catch the infamous Golden State killer in the US — to identify the man as Gary John Schmidt. Mr Schmidt was 46 years old and originally from the Northern Territory. He was believed to have been travelling around Australia before his death. “Investigations to date are unable to confirm the circumstances surrounding how Mr Schmidt died and why he was in the Kununurra area,” a police spokeswoman told The West Australian. “It is believed he may have been travelling back to the Northern Territory.” Now that Mr Schmidt has been identified, police are calling for information to determine how he died. Investigative genetic genealogy often involves police using information available on commercial and publicly available genealogy websites. Among the cases recently solved using the technique include the offender behind a spate of shocking sex attacks on women in Perth in the 1990s. Police used it to identify, arrest and charge Michael Woodhall over the crimes last year. Woodhall pleaded guilty last week. Speaking about the method last year, police said Woodhall was pinpointed after they had initially identified 3884 people going back to the 1600s. This was then whittled down to one person after a two-year elimination process. In another case, the identity of a man who was hit and killed by a train almost three decades ago was also unveiled earlier this year using the same method. Mark Peter Dixon, 20, was named as the man found on the tracks in March 1998. Anyone with information about Mr Schmidt’s movements before his death should call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.