The body of a homicide victim discovered in a San Joaquin County orchard several decades ago has finally been identified, though the man’s killer remains a mystery, the Sheriff’s Office said.
In April 1982, a farmer in the area of French Camp and Jack Tone roads northeast of Manteca discovered the remains of an unidentified homicide victim in his almond orchard, the Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Wednesday.
For more than four decades, investigators with the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office worked to uncover his identity, even releasing images of the tattoos found on his body, as recently as last year.
With help from forensic DNA technology in partnership with Othram Inc. and the FBI’s Sacramento genealogy team, a breakthrough finally came. The Sheriff’s Office said a DNA comparison with a possible relative confirmed the victim as Danny Joe Jentzen, born July 8, 1954, from Flint, Michigan.
Jentzen’s family shared that he grew up a ward of the state, had some law enforcement contact in Southern California and San Francisco, and may have struggled with mental health challenges, according to the Sheriff’s Office. His sister last saw him as a child after their father and younger brother were killed in a tragic car accident.
While Jentzen has finally been identified, his murder remains unsolved.
The Sheriff’s Office is asking for the community’s help. Anyone with information about Danny Joe Jentzen or the circumstances surrounding his disappearance and death should contact the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office at (209) 468-4400.