TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — Indiana State Police is asking the public's help solving a cold case from over 25 years ago.
According to a release from ISP, the case dates back to January 1998 when a state highway employee found skeletal remains along Fruitridge Avenue, near the Interstate 70 overpass in Vigo County.
Since the discovery of the remains, investigators have worked to identify them, without any success. Details of the case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System before being sent to Louisiana State University, where a forensic facial reconstruction was developed and sent out to the public with hopes of identifying the remains.
In 2023, the Vigo County Coroner's Office, ISP and the University of Indianapolis submitted the forensic evidence to Othram, a corporation specializing in forensic genetic genealogy. Othram developed a DNA profile that helped investigators find new leads in the case.
After contacting potential family members and conducting additional DNA testing and investigative efforts, the remains were finally identified as 47-year-old Mitchell Preston, of Anderson.
Preston was last seen in August 1997 and was reported to be traveling to California on foot at the time of his disappearance.
While the identification has brought some closure to Preston's family, police say they are now asking for the public's help finding any information about what may have happened to Preston.
Anyone with information about Preston's disappearance, such as where he was last seen or what may have happened to him, is asked to contact the ISP Cold Case Team and Trooper Detective Brad Miller at 1-800-225-8576. All tips will be investigated and can remain anonymous.