L.A. was his destination; the desert was his graveyard. After nearly 40 years, his bones have been identified
In September 1986, Dennis Earl Seger packed his belongings into his green Ford Torino, leaving his Seattle home for Los Angeles.
He never made a new home in L.A.
His car was found in Barstow, a month after he was last seen, about 120 miles out from Los Angeles. He was 50 years old the last time anyone heard from him, according to the National Missing Person Directory.
More than a year later, off-road motorists stumbled across skeletal remains in a remote swath of desert in Newberry Springs, about 150 miles from Seger’s destination. It was Nov. 23, 1987. Deputies confirmed the remains were a human skeleton, but with no investigative leads or identification on the body, the case went cold, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
Nearly four decades later, there are finally some answers.
Using a bone fragment taken from the remains, the California Department of Justice was able to determine through DNA testing that the skeleton belonged to Seger, according to a news release from the department Thursday. Family members had shared their DNA during the Los Angeles Police Department investigation that followed Seger’s disappearance.
After more than four decades and a couple of wrong turns, DNA left at the scene of two homicides led detectives to an Oxnard karate teacher.
What happened on that trip and in that lonesome stretch of desert may forever remain a mystery.
The LAPD concluded its investigation, saying there was no evidence that Seger died because of assault or criminal action by another person, the department said.
Seger spent his early childhood in St. Cloud, Minn., with his parents and older sister, according to the 1940 census. He lived in Seattle in the years preceding his disappearance.
Steve Curry, an experienced and inveterate hiker from Sunland, is believed to be the second person to die in Death Valley’s searing heat this year.
He was born on April 29, 1936.
Those with additional information are asked to contact Det. Edward Hernandez at (909) 890-4904 or WeTip at (800) 782-7463, or go to the WeTip website.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
