Solano County Identifies Body After 23 Years Using DNA
Last week, the Solano County Sheriff’s Office announced it would reveal its first success from a project aimed at identifying unidentified decedents within Solano County.
On March 11th, 2001, a body was discovered in the water off Ryer Island near Rio Vista. At the time, the body was only identified as “John Doe #3.” After a year of investigation, the identity of the deceased could not be established and the case was laid to rest, according to a press release by the Solano County Sheriff’s Office.
In July of 2023, the Solano County Sheriff’s Office launched an initiative to identify as many unidentified decedents as possible. Giving credit to advancements in DNA technology, the Sheriff’s Office announced on Tuesday its first solved case.
The man found deceased in the water off Rio Vista in 2001 was positively identified as Craig William Ott of Sacramento. Ott disappeared in January of 2001, two months before his body was found in Solano County.
The Solano County Coroner’s Office thanked Othram Inc. and the California Department of Justice for their assistance in identifying Mr. Ott. The Sheriff’s Office did not release information regarding the cause or other details of Mr. Ott’s death. If you have any information related to the case, you’re encouraged to contact Detective Chris Cavazos at (707) 784-7050.
Our thoughts and condolences go out to the Ott family and we hope the development has brought some form of closure.
