Human remains discovered in a wooded area five years ago have been identified as a man who had been missing from his family for more than two decades.
The remains were found near a residence on Overbrook Drive in Knoxville on May 20, 2020, according to a news release from the Knox County Regional Forensic Center.
After the discovery, the remains were transported to the Regional Forensic Center for examination by a forensic pathologist. Initially, they were estimated to belong to a man between 55 and 70 years old, but his cause and manner of death remained undetermined. “All conventional means of forensic identification failed to yield the man’s identity,” the forensic center stated.
In 2023, a DNA sample from the remains was submitted to Othram, a private lab in Texas specializing in forensic genetic genealogy to identify human remains.
By August 2025, Othram scientists informed the forensic center that they had developed leads pointing to possible relatives in Michigan. Family members then provided DNA for comparison, allowing Othram to confirm the man’s identity as Gerald J. Forsman, originally from Livonia, Mich.
According to the forensic center, one family member contacted by investigators had not seen Forsman in 22 years.
Forsman was born on Feb. 27, 1958, making him about 45 years old at the time of his disappearance. Public records indicate he lived in Knoxville when he vanished, though the reasons for his disappearance remain unclear, according to Othram.
“The Knox County Regional Forensic Center is grateful to all the agencies that assisted in identifying Mr. Forsman,” the forensic center said in a statement.
The forensic genetic genealogical testing that solved this case “was made possible as a result of U.S. Congressman Tim Burchett’s 2024 Community Project Funding request through the Bureau of Justice Assistance,” according to the forensic center.
This marks the eighth cold case solved through this initiative and the 26th case in Tennessee where officials have publicly identified an individual using technology developed by Othram.
