The human remains that were found partially buried next to the Nooksack River in 2022 have been identified as Mark Hess, who has been missing for more than 20 years.
On Nov. 21, 2022, city workers from Ferndale had been performing a river levee inspection south of Pioneer Bridge when they found human remains partially buried in the sandy river bank. The Ferndale Police Department recovered the remains with the assistance of the Whatcom County Medical Examiner’s Office and the Bellingham Police Department.
Almost two years later on Nov. 6, Ferndale police confirmed in a news release that an investigation and DNA testing revealed the remains had been Ferndale resident Mark Hess, who was reported missing in July 2002 at age 46, according to information previously gathered from the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. The database no longer lists Hess as a missing person as of Wednesday.
The Bellingham Herald reported at the time of discovery that the remains were suspected to be Hess, but that suspicion wasn’t confirmed until now. Ferndale Communications and Community Relations Officer Megan Juenemann explained the delay was due to a backlog at labs able to extract a DNA sample. Because Hess’s disappearance was a cold case, requests for analysis were considered a low priority for the busy labs.
The case is still considered open until the final report from the county medical examiner is received.
This story was updated at 4:15 p.m. on Nov. 6 to include the reason for the delay in identifying the remains.
Julia Tellman writes about civic issues and anything else that happens to cross her desk; contact her at juliatellman@cascadiadaily.com.
