TBI Identifies Remains Of Body Found In East TN In 1981

Remains of a man found in Blount County have finally been identified, over 40 years after they were originally found. The remains of a body were discovered in April of 1981 and investigators believed at the time that the remains belonged to an adult male 20-35 years of age. However, because of the limitations of technology at the time, that person could not be identified.

The TBI never gave up and in 2007 submitted the remains to the University of Tennessee Forensic Anthropology Center for a DNA profile. Still, the TBI failed to get an identification on the remains. Fast forward nearly 20 years. Through the TBI’s Unidentified Human Remains Initiative, a sample of the remains were submitted to a private laboratory in Texas called Othram. They specialize in forensic genetic genealogical DNA testing. That testing led the TBI to a family in Blount County. A DNA sample from a family member was used and that led the TBI to now identify the body as that of William Thomas Green, who disappeared in Blount County back in 1977.

The TBI says they are now hoping that with the public’s help, they can now find out what led to Mr. Green’s death. He was last seen by family members in Knoxville and was 35 at the time he went missing.