But this week, the push by coroner's unidentified persons coordinator David Van Norman to match every body with a name paid off.
A DNA match identified the man as Richard Gale Jensen, 57, a Fontana resident who had been reported missing the same month.
After 9˝ years, his family in Menifee has been notified of his death.
Initially, no one could find a fingerprint match for John Doe 32-99. Authorities later found that Jensen's thumbprint was on file with the Department of Motor Vehicles. That would have generated a quick confirmation of his ID, but there was no way to search for it without knowing his name.
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