Identity of man found dead near North Portland bridge revealed 30 years later

PORTLAND, Ore. — In 1992, workers clearing underbrush near the St. Johns bridge in Portland discovered the skeleton of an unknown man.

Medical exams revealed that the man had been dead for about a year. Examiners found several fractures across his body, suggesting that he'd fallen from the bridge. But even with his dental records, authorities were never able to identify the man. The case ultimately went cold for the next three decades.

This October, the Oregon State Medical Examiner's Office (OSME) was able to positively identify the man as 39-year-old Bryant Edward Deane with the help of DNA analysis from the DNA Doe Project .

“This case was cold for 33 years,” said Hailey Collord-Stalder, forensic anthropologist with the OSME. “Bryant’s parents passed in 2017 and 2019, respectively