An unidentified body discovered by a hunter more than 32 years ago in rural DeKalb County now has a name, thanks to investigators using genetic technology and old fashioned shoe leather.

The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office Friday announced that DNA testing has tentatively identified a body found in 1991 as Rainbow Canyon King of Tompkinsville, Ky.

King’s skeletal remains were discovered in a wooded area near the intersection of County Road 51 and Alabama 227 on Dec. 21, 1991.

Sheriff Nick Welden said the breakthrough could not have come without work from many different agencies and investigators.

“The identification of Rainbow Canyon King brings closure to a decades-old mystery and allows his family to finally lay him to rest. Our prayers and condolences go out to his family during this time,” Welden said.

The investigation initially involved the State Bureau of Investigation, the Alabama Department of Forensic Science, and Fort Payne police. But the body remained unidentified for decades.

More than a year ago, in late 2022, Olivia McCarter, a genealogy analyst with the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office, contacted DeKalb County about using genetic genealogy to identify the remains. McCarter has been involved in several identification cases, including the Delta Dawn investigation.

Last year, DNA samples extracted from the remains were sent to Intermountain Forensics, a non-profit laboratory in Salt Lake City, for analysis and whole-genome sequencing, according to Welden. The DNA data was uplthen oaded to GEDMatch by Olivia McCarter and her team at Moxxy Forensic Investigations. This led to a close familial match, resulting in the identification as King, who was 22 at the time of his death.

Chief Investigator Priscilla Padgett and Investigations Assistant Andrea Woodall traveled to Tompkinsville, Ky., accompanied by Monroe County Sheriff Dale Ford, to meet with the King family. Further investigation and coordination with King’s living relatives confirmed a DNA match.