Nevada Appeal staff report
Tuesday, November 30, 2021
A set of human remains found in three locations over three years has been identified as belonging to a Carson City man reported missing in 2013, the Carson City Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Tuesday.
Christopher Cash, a 55-year-old Carson resident, was reported missing Aug. 1, 2013. At the time of his disappearance, he was identified as a paranoid schizophrenic who was off his medication, according to the CCSO release.
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 ½ mile south of the original 2019 search location in a ravine.
On Feb. 27, another hiker found human remains in a steep ravine approximately two miles west of the 2019 search location. Detectives and Search and Rescue, 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, the release said.
All of the human remains from each location were submitted to the Washoe County Medical Examiner’s Office in Reno. The medical examiner’s office told investigators the surgical metal plate found on the long bone matched the same type Cash had received in 2011.
The medical examiner submitted some of the remains toBode 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 and Bode determined the male DNA sample to be a match to Cash’s sibling.
In October, the medical examiner completed its investigation of the human remains, which included an examination by a forensic anthropologist, and identified the human remains from the three recovery locations as being Cash. The cause and manner of death are undetermined.
Detectives were unable to determine how Cash came to be in the remote rugged mountainside north of Carson City. 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.
Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Carson City Sheriff’s Office, Investigation Division, Detective Sam Hatley (775) 283-7852 or Sgt. Craig Lowe (775) 283-7815.
