Tarrant County Medical Examiner seeking next of kin for 1986 murder victim
FORT WORTH, Texas - The Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office is seeking the public's help in identifying the next of kin for two cold cases that have recently been identified through fingerprint analysis.
Cold cases identified
What we know:
Through fingerprint analysis, the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office has identified two cold cases and is asking the public to help find their next of kin.
1986 cold case
TCME identified an individual recovered on Oct. 16, 1986 as Jose Francisco Reyes Ortega, who was born on April 11, 1956.
Archived evidence from the Fort Worth Police Department was examined, including fingers removed at autopsy. TCME fingerprint analysts developed fingerprints from the evidence, which generated a positive identification.
Ortega has been assigned Unclaimed Person number UCP158233.
2000 cold case
TCME identified an individual discovered on Aug. 18, 2000 as Ciro Estrada Hernandez, who was born on July 16, 1969.
Hernandez was identified through routine fingerprint reexamination. The resubmission hit on a criminal history out of California that matched Hernandez.
Hernandez has been assigned Unclaimed Person number UCP158233.
What you can do:
Neither cold case identification has a next of kin, and both have been assigned as an Unclaimed Person by the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office. The Unclaimed Person database can be found here.
Anyone with information regarding next of kin for Ortega or Hernandez is asked to contact the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office at (817) 920-5700.
The Source: Information in this story comes from the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office.