DNA Match Confirms Human Remains Found on Eel River Belong to Man Missing Since 2021

Press release from the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office:

John Davis III

On 10/25/2021 at approximately 09:07 A.M., Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office Deputies were dispatched to contact the son of John Davis III who requested to report his father as a missing person.

Sheriff’s Deputies learned that on 10/23/2021 at approximately 04:00 A.M., Davis and his son left their residence in McKinleyville, CA, to go hunting in the area of Mile Marker 8 on Highway 162. It was estimated they arrived at their destination at approximately 07:00 A.M. on 10/23/2021.

Davis and his son parked their vehicle at the bridge then walked approximately 3 miles southeast from Mile Marker 8 of Highway 162 to set up camp. The two men set up a tent along the Eel River then hiked around the area to hunt bear and deer. Later that evening they returned to the camp and tent to sleep.

In the early hours of 10/24/2021, Davis and his son awoke to water flooding their tent caused by a massive rainstorm, which occurred during the nighttime hours. Davis decided to stay in the area and his son chose to walk back towards their vehicle parked on Highway 162. Davis’ son waited numerous hours at the car for his father who never arrived. Davis’ son returned to the tent campsite on 10/24/2021 and was unable to locate his father or the tent. Davis’ son contacted family members to inform them Davis was missing, and family members responded and checked for Davis but were unable to locate him on 10/24/2021.

During the morning of 10/25/2021, Davis’ son drove to Willits and contacted the Sheriff’s Office to report his father as missing.

Sheriff’s Deputies responded to the area on 10/25/2021 and observed water levels on the Eel River were elevated to the point where searching the river’s edge would be dangerous for all personnel.

During the afternoon of 10/25/2021, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office deployed Search and Rescue personnel to search for Davis. Approximately 12 Mendocino County Search and Rescue personnel, along with Sheriff’s Office Patrol Deputies, and Sheriff’s Office Detectives assisted with the search. Searchers utilized ATV’s and an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) to assist with ground search efforts.

Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office personnel searched the area from the bridge to approximately 3 miles upstream of the Eel River, and the surrounding areas of the 8 Mile Bridge location. Search efforts on 10/25/2021 were unsuccessful in finding Davis or any evidence related to this investigation.

Following the initial search, Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office requested mutual-aid assistance from Search and Rescue personnel throughout the Northern California area. Search efforts continued for the following ten weeks, which included 7 operational periods and hundreds of logged search hours. During this time, no evidence or items related to Davis were located by search personnel.

Over the next multiple years, Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office continued search efforts, which included mutual-aid searches, assistance from National Guard overflights, California Highway Patrol search planes, and Butte County Air assets. These efforts did not yield any evidence or investigative leads.

On 07/08/2022, Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office personnel performed the 10^th search operation and nothing of note was located. At this time, search efforts were suspended until further investigative leads were developed.

On 02/01/2026, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office received a call for service from an individual who was fishing on the Eel River, approximately 2 miles north of the Dos Rios Bridge. It was reported that the caller located a long bone, which was believed to be human. The reporting person marked the area with GPS coordinates where the bone was located. The bone was collected and turned over to Sheriff’s Deputies, which was eventually turned over to the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office Detective Bureau.

Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office Detectives provided a photograph of the collected bone to the Chico State University Forensic Anthropology Department, and the bone was identified as being human. Detectives contacted the California Department of Justice Missing Persons DNA Program and requested the bone be analyzed in an attempt to extract deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) for familial DNA comparison.

Due to the recently located remains, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office planned another search operation in the area where the human bone was located. Members of the Davis family were contacted by the Sheriff’s Office and informed of the recent developments.

On 02/03/2026, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office initiated an 11^th search operation, which included the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office Detective unit. During the search, personal property items were collected and later identified by Davis’ family members as being potential matches for items that belonged to Davis and may have been in his possession in 2021.

On 06/16/2026, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office received information from the California Department of Justice confirming the collected bone from February of 2026 was a positive DNA familial match for the mother and father of missing person John Davis III. This information was immediately relayed to the Davis family and another search operation was scheduled.

On 07/11/2026, a large-scale search operation occurred with mutual-aid resources from other Counties to include a large contingency of personnel from the Marin County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue team.

During the operation on 07/11/2026, personnel were deployed from the last known location of the missing person to the 8-Mile Bridge on Highway 162, to the Dos Rios Bridge on Highway 162, and continued north along the Eel River to the area where the bone was located on 02/01/2026. The operation on 07/11/2026 included over 70 Search and Rescue volunteers from numerous Counties.

Numerous bones were photographed, collected, and secured during the operation on 07/11/2026. Pictures of the collected bones were sent to the Chico State University Forensic Anthropology Department. The bones that were photographed and collected on 07/11/2026 were determined to be non-human, but are being sent to Chico State University for additional analysis and formal determination regarding the bone origins.

The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the numerous Search and Rescue teams and law enforcement organizations who assisted with this investigation and the 12 separate search operations related to this missing person case.

Anyone with information related to this investigation is requested to contact the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office at 707-463-4086 (option 1). Information can also be provided anonymously by calling the non-emergency tip-line at 707-234-2100.

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