Human remains identified as Carson City man missing since 2013
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Tue, 11/30/2021 - 11:43am
The Carson City Sheriff's Office, through the work of a DNA laboratory, has identified a local man who was reported missing in 2013 and whose remains were found by hikers in a remote area above Centennial Park.
Christopher Cash, 55, of Carson City was reported missing on August 1, 2013. His skeletal remains were recovered in three separate locations by separate hikers, according to Carson City Sheriff's Office Detective Sam Hatley.
The remains were given to the Washoe County Medical examiner, where some were sent to a forensic laboratory. The DNA of the remains matched those of his sibling, according to Hatley. Carson City Sheriff's Office detectives did not locate evidence of foul play and no trauma was identified on the skeletal remains.
The following is from the Carson City Sheriff's Office:
On August 1 2013, 55-year-old Carson City resident, Christopher Cash was reported missing. Cash, who lived at the 600 block Hot Springs Road, was identified as (suffering from a mental health condition) who was off his medication. Detectives investigated many leads but were unable to locate Cash.
On Jan. 29, 2019, a hiker located a human skull in a remote area above Centennial Park in Carson City. No evidence of trauma was found on the skull. Investigators and the Carson City Search and Rescue unit did not locate any additional human remains.
On Nov. 23, 2020, another hiker found a human long bone which had a surgical metal implant attached to the bone. This long bone was found approximately 1/2 mile south of the original 2019 search location in a ravine.
On Feb. 27, 2021, yet another hiker found human remains in a steep ravine approximately two miles west of the 2019 search location. Detectives, the Carson City Search and Rescue Unit with the assistance of a human remains detection K9 located additional human remains in the ravine and in other locations between the two search locations. It appeared animals had scattered the remains in wide area.
All the human remains from each location were submitted to the Washoe County Medical Examiner’s Office in Reno Nevada for examination. The Washoe County Medical Examiner’s Office told investigators that the surgical metal plate found on the long bone matched the same type of surgical metal plate Cash had received in 2011.
The Washoe County Medical Examiner’s Office submitted some of the remains to BODE TECHNOLOGY, a private forensic DNA laboratory in Virginia. BODE identified a male DNA sample from the remains. Detectives obtained a DNA sample from Cash's sibling that was also submitted to BODE. BODE determined the male DNA sample to be a match to Cash’s sibling.
In October 2021, The Washoe County Medical Examiner’s Office completed its investigation of the human remains, which included an examination by a forensic anthropologist. The Washoe County Medical Examiner’s identified the human remains from the three recovery locations as being Christopher Cash. The cause and manner of death are undetermined.
Detectives were unable to determine how Christopher Cash came to be in the remote rugged mountainside north of Carson City. Christopher Cash was known to walk throughout Carson City and he did not have a vehicle. Detectives did not locate evidence of foul play and no trauma was identified on the skeletal remains.
The Carson City Sheriff’s Office thanks the following for the locating and identifying of Christopher Cash’s remains: The three Carson City hikers, The Carson City Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue Unit, The Washoe County Medical Examiner’s Office, Dr. Mary Cablk and her human remains detection partner K9 Inca with the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue Unit, Dr. Marin Pilloud with the University of Nevada Reno Anthropology Department and BODE Technology.
Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Carson City Sheriff’s Office, Investigation Division, Detective Sam Hatley (775) 283-7852, Sgt. Craig Lowe (775) 283-7815.
