Remains found in marina ID’d 17 years later, CA cops say. But mystery lingers
More than a decade after skeletal remains were found floating in a California marina, they’ve been identified, deputies say.
With help from DNA testing, the remains were identified as 20-year-old Esteban Pablo Pablo, the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office said in a July 30 Facebook post.
Partial skeletal remains “were found floating in the Alameda Marina” in September 2008, deputies said.
Found along with the remains were “a white or gray sock and a size 8.5 Vision brand ‘skateboarder’ type shoe,” deputies said.
Nearly three years later, additional remains were found floating in an estuary, which DNA testing confirmed to belong to the same person, according to deputies.
With only partial remains recovered, deputies said investigators could not determine the man’s cause or manner of death.
“Despite extensive investigative efforts,” the man’s identity remained a mystery, deputies said.
Then, in 2024, deputies said they looked to forensic genetic genealogy in hopes of bringing closure to the case.
Genetic genealogy uses DNA testing coupled with “traditional genealogical methods” to create “family history profiles,” according to the Library of Congress. With genealogical DNA testing, researchers can determine if and how people are biologically related.
Deputies said they partnered with Othram Inc., a forensic genetic genealogy company, and sent DNA evidence for testing.
Scientists developed a “comprehensive DNA profile,” which was used in follow-up investigation to create new leads, the company said in a news release.
This led investigators to a potential relative, who provided a DNA sample for testing, deputies said.
By comparing the DNA samples, investigators confirmed the remains belonged to Pablo Pablo, “who was last seen alive in Alameda County in 2007,” according to deputies.
Deputies said they have been working closely with Pablo Pablo’s family in Honduras.
“We hope to reunite them soon,” deputies said.
Alameda is about a 10-mile drive east from San Francisco.
This story was originally published July 30, 2025 at 3:40 PM with the headline "Remains found in marina ID’d 17 years later, CA cops say. But mystery lingers."
