SANFORD, Fla. — Human remains found in Sanford woods nearly three decades ago have been identified as an Orlando man who disappeared in 1997, police announced Thursday.
Investigators identified John Richard Molis through DNA testing and forensic genetic genealogy, giving his family answers about his whereabouts after 29 years.
“The great innovations with technology have led us to be able to give John his face and his full name back,” Sanford police spokesperson Bianca Gillett told Channel 9.
Police found the skeletal remains March 24, 1997, in a wooded area near Fulton Street and Mangoustine Avenue, near what was then Central Florida Regional Hospital.
Two people walking their dog discovered the remains. Channel 9 reported from the scene and located its original interview with them in the Eyewitness News archives.
No identification was found at the scene.
The medical examiner determined the man had been killed and suffered sharp-force injuries to the head, according to Sanford police.
DNA testing leads to identification
In 2023, investigators sent a tooth to the Pinellas County Medical Examiner’s Office to obtain a DNA profile. The profile was entered into CODIS, a national DNA database, but no matches were found.
The case received financial assistance through a forensic genetic genealogy grant program in 2025. With help from the Volusia County Medical Examiner’s Office, investigators sent bone samples to Othram Laboratories for additional DNA testing.
The resulting profile was provided to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for genetic genealogy work.
In July, FDLE notified Sanford investigators of a possible match to a close relative. A DNA sample from that relative helped confirm the identification.
Police said Molis was positively identified Aug. 31.
Gillett said the identification came shortly before Molis’ closest surviving relative died.
“His sister, which was the closest relative, passed two days after the identification was made,” Gillett said. “She had wondered what happened to her brother her whole life. I know that is meaningful to the investigators, that they were able to give that closure to her before she passed.”
Search for answers continues
Molis was reported missing from the Orlando area Jan. 21, 1997, according to police. He was 37 when he disappeared.
He was born in Wisconsin and moved to the Orlando area in 1986 or 1987. He lived at Ridge Club Apartments and worked in janitorial services at Splendid China in Kissimmee.
His burgundy-and-brown 1986 Dodge Aries station wagon was found abandoned and towed from the Greyhound bus station on North John Young Parkway in Orlando.
“For almost 30 years, John’s family has agonized over not knowing what happened to him, not knowing if he would one day come home,” Sanford Police Chief Cecil Smith said in the release.
Identifying Molis answered one major question, but investigators still do not know who killed him or why.
Police said the case is now an active homicide investigation. Detectives are working to reconstruct Molis’ life in Central Florida and identify people who knew him during the mid-1990s.
Anyone who knew Molis or has information about his disappearance or killing is asked to contact Sanford police or Crimeline at 800-423-TIPS (8477). Calls to Crimeline remain anonymous.
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