Remains Found Off Maine Coast in 2000 Identified as Las Vegas Man

Skeletal remains found off the coast of Maine in 2000 have finally been identified as a missing man from Las Vegas.

Who is It?

It's taken nearly 23 years, but a mystery that began when human remains were pulled from the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Maine has been partially solved. The Maine Office of the Chief Medical Examiner announced on Wednesday that those remains have finally been identified as Philip Kahn. The 84-year-old left Las Vegas, Nevada and landed in New York in 2000, but WMTW-TV reports his movements after that are unclear. No one seems to know how he ended up in Maine, with his remains floating near the Grand Manan Banks. His body was recovered on July 24th, 2000.

Why Has It Taken So Long to Identify Him?

The investigation that led to Kahn's identification has taken many years and many steps. Originally, an autopsy was performed on the remains at the Office of Maine's Chief Medical Examiner, with DNA fingerprints sent to the FBI. Eventually, Parabo Nanolabs was consulted, to see if they could come up with any answers. They determined that the person was Ashkenazi Jewish, but forensic genealogy couldn't pinpoint the person's identity.

How Were They Finally Able to Solve the Mystery?

In 2022, Maine's Chief Medical Examiner met with the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services and Deceased Persons Identification Services Division and, through new technology, was able to identify the remains as Kahn, using DNA and dental records. The question about how the Las Vegas man ended up in the Atlantic, off the coast of Maine, however, remains unsolved.