Man missing since 1972 identified 50 years later with DNA testing, KBI says
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation says on April 18
By KAKE News Staff
Click here for updates on this story
TOPEKA, Kansas (KAKE) — Authorities say the remains of a Kansas man have been positively identified after over 50 years since he was killed.
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation says on April 18, 1973, the decomposing remains of an unidentified male were located three miles southeast of Garnett, Kansas, off 1550 Road.
The man was found wearing a brown corduroy jacket, a green long-sleeved buttoned shirt, jeans, a black leather belt with a large belt buckle, brown hiking boots, and a navy blue stocking cap. He was also wearing two gold rings with crosses, a ring with the number “78” and a silver chain with a large cross.
During the autopsy in 1973, the coroner ruled the man’s manner of death a homicide due to signs of trauma. It was determined the man was around 20-years-old and believed to have brown hair and a slender build.
Over the years, many attempts were made to identify the remains and learn what happened to the man.
In 2024, DNA was extracted from the remains so that a DNA profile could be utilized for forensic genetic genealogy testing. This advanced testing, conducted by Othram, attempts to uncover family relationships in order to identify any living relatives of the person who is unidentified.
The funding to conduct the testing was provided by the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), administered by the National Institute of Justice, and managed through a contract with Research Triangle Institute International.
In early 2025, KBI learned the testing had identified relatives of the unknown man. After further investigation, KBI agents and the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office located the man’s siblings.
They conducted interviews and collected DNA from a sibling for comparison. The unidentified person was then positively identified as Jimmy Allen Dollison.
Jimmy Dollison had been living in Kansas City, Kansas when he went missing. He disappeared sometime in October or November of 1972, when he was 16-years-old.
According to family members, the KBI says he was reported missing by his parents, but the family never learned what happened to Jimmy.
The KBI and the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office continue to investigate the circumstances of Dollison’s death.
Anyone who has information about the disappearance or murder of Jimmy Dollison is asked to call the KBI at 1-800-KS-CRIME, or report tips online at kbi.ks.gov/sar.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
