Bicyclists found skull by Nevada trail, cops say. It belongs to man missing since 1992
People riding their bikes along a lake in 2020 found a human skull off the trail, Nevada authorities say.
That discovery led to a search of the area, where investigators found more remains on the “steep mountainside” on the west side of the lake, deputies said.
Now DNA testing has identified the remains as belonging to a man missing for 31 years, authorities say.
The remains belong to 39-year-old Ronald V. Hendricks, who was reported missing in December 1992, the Carson City Sheriff’s Office said in a Feb. 16 Facebook post.
Bicyclists found the skull on Sept. 20, 2020, near the Flume Trail at Marlette Lake, deputies said.
The remains were examined by the Washoe County Medical Examiner’s Office and a DNA profile was created, authorities said.
The medical examiner’s office determined the remains belonged to a man but could not find a match in law enforcement databases.
So an “extended DNA profile” was taken and turned over to the GEDmatch and Family Tree DNA databases. From this DNA profile, it was determined the remains possibly belonged to Hendricks, deputies said.
Hendricks’ siblings submitted their DNA profiles, and they were a a match. Authorities were then able to confirm the human remains belonged to Hendricks.
Hendricks last seen snowshoeing
When Hendricks went missing, he was reported being suicidal, deputies said.
He was last seen snowshoeing toward Spooner Lake, and his vehicle was found at the lake’s parking lot, authorities said.
His remains were found about 5 miles from where he was last reported being seen, deputies said, but searches of the area when he disappeared came up empty.
Authorities ask anyone with information about the case to call Carson City Sheriff’s Office’s Investigation Division Detective Sam Hatley at 775-283-7852 or Secret Witness at 775-322-4900.
Marlette Lake is on the east side of Lake Tahoe, about 40 miles south of Reno.
This story was originally published February 20, 2023 at 5:04 PM with the headline "Bicyclists found skull by Nevada trail, cops say. It belongs to man missing since 1992."
