New Jersey (KVOA) – Students at the University of Ramapo in New Jersey have identified John Doe of Nogales for the first time in 20 years.

The identity of Nogales John Doe was confirmed as Donald Sigurd Hadland, Jr., thanks to students at the Center for Investigative Genetic Genealogy at the University of Ramapo, New Jersey.

Hadland’s body was found in 2002 in a hotel room in Nogales, Arizona, which he had registered under a false identity shortly before his death.

Although matching fingerprints identified him as Hadland, questions about his identity remained unresolved due to conflicting identities.

The Pima County Coroner’s Office called him “Nogales John Doe” and his remains were buried in Nogales in 2003.

IGG students collated genetic material and identified John Doe as Hadland.

“This case was unique in that there was an investigative lead to identify Donald Hadland Jr. in the first place,” said Ramapo IGG Accreditation Program Director Kylen Binder. “Students could use the investigative genealogy to gather additional supporting information to demonstrate how the genetic match of Nogales John Doe matches that of Donald Hadland Jr. I did.”

The case is the first reported case of successful identification by the IGG Center at Ramapo University in New Jersey.