A young hitchhiker who disappeared in the 60s has now been identified by DNA and genetic genealogy, authorities said.
Daniel Paul “Danny” Armantrout, 15, is the oldest case involving the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children to be solved through the technology, according to reports. Armantrout vanished in March 1961 when he was hitchhiking along Highway 25 in Alabama after he’d run away from home because of his parents’ divorce, WHIO TV reported.
A short time later, a man, James White, picked up the teen, but the pair got into an accident and the car ended up in the Cahaba River. White survived but Armantrout did not. Identifying Armantrout didn’t come until recently, however, because Armantrout had no identification on him, according to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. He was wearing a Timex and had a full suitcase of clothes with him when he died.
Authorities had tried to locate the boy’s family, but could not and the boy was buried at Centreville Memorial Cemetery a couple of weeks later.