Jonathan Raxa disappeared off the Northern California coast in December 1999 when an 18-foot wave tore the pilothouse from his commercial fishing boat, the Silver Spray. More than 26 years later, a human sacrum found on Centerville Beach was identified through DNA testing as belonging to Raxa, resolving the long-running mystery and notifying his family.

Raxa was 37 and a father of three when the 35-foot vessel sank near the mouth of Humboldt Bay. The bone was found about 15 miles south of the wreck site and matched DNA from his relatives; authorities said the case demonstrated the value of preserving family DNA samples when people go missing.