Remains found 49 years ago in Coconino County, Arizona have been identified as those of a Vietnam veteran originally from Minnesota.
Gerald Francis Long’s skeletal remains were discovered on April 19, 1975, when farmers chasing a runaway pig found them off Meteor City Road, 40 miles east of Flagstaff, Arizona.
Long’s remains were identified as the result of a partnership between the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office, Intermountain Forensics, the FBI’s Latent Print Unit, and the Coconino County Office of the Medical Examiner, according to a release from the sheriff’s office.
The victim became known as Munsingwear Doe, named for a Munsingwear brand jacket found with the remains. Multiple detectives and cold case volunteers developed numerous leads over the years, but none resulted in a positive identification, the release states.
The sheriff’s office contracted with Intermountain Forensics of Salt Lake City, UT to identify Munsingwear Doe through the Forensic Genetic Genealogy process in August of 2023. That led to the creation of a DNA profile that was compared with existing profiles in available genealogy databases. Investigators at Intermountain Forensics identified a family line, and by February 2024 had identified Gerald Long as a potential match.
Family members identified Long as a US Army veteran who served in Vietnam. Long enlisted in the in January 1969 and deployed to Vietnam later that year. He returned to Minnesota in February 1972 and was discharged from the Army a month later. In October 1972 Long told his family he was leaving Minnesota and heading to the West Coast. That was the last time family members saw or heard from Long.
The FBI Laboratory’s Latent Print Unit also positively matched partial fingerprints from the remains to Long’s fingerprint records.
The cause of Long’s death was not determined in 1975 and remains unknown today.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.
