Murder victim found in Oregon woods in 1972 identified as WWII veteran

Investigators have identified the remains of a murder victim whose bones were discovered in the woods of southwestern Oregon in 1972. 

Armes Henry Lahti, of Astoria, Oregon, was a United States Navy veteran who served in the military during World War II, according to the Coos County Sheriff’s Office. Coos County includes the wooded area where Lahti’s skeletal remains were found by a teen who was peeling chittum bark from a tree nearby.

At the time, authorities were able to determine that Lahti had died after being shot twice in the head, and they classified the death as a homicide. But, outside of clothing items and a set of denture plates inscribed with a partially illegible set of numbers, there was too little evidence recovered from the scene to generate leads in the case. 

The sheriff’s office estimated that Lahti had been killed almost a decade before his remains were uncovered. It would take more than another 50 years to identify him. 

In 2025, authorities began to review the details of what had become a cold case. The Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office submitted evidence to a laboratory that specializes in investigative genetic genealogy, a crime-solving approach that combines DNA profiling and “family tree” research to help identify unknown victims of crimes. Although expensive, the technique is being used more and more often to close long-unsolved murder or missing persons cases.

Scientists were able to extract enough DNA from the evidence collected during the initial investigation. Eventually, their analyses led law enforcement to Lahti’s relatives, according to the lab that performed the testing.

Born in 1909, Lahti was described by family members as an avid fisherman and a large yet gentle man ironically nicknamed “Mousy.” Relatives remembered him as someone who “loved the sea and was proud of his service to his country,” the sheriff’s office said.

Even though the remains have now been identified, authorities haven’t pieced together the circumstances surrounding his death or who might be responsible for it. The sheriff’s office said that investigators have learned Lahti “had a dispute at a bar” shortly before his disappearance, after which he “walked away with a rifle.” According to the office, that dispute likely took place in 1965.

“While the case is as old as 60 years ago, we would like to bring justice to Armes and his family,” the office said. They’ve asked anyone with information, “no matter how seemingly small,” to contact them.