CARSON CITY — In October of 1980, the Nye County Sheriff’s Office (NCSO) Deputies located the remains of an unknown male adult approximately one mile east of US95 and 60 miles south of Tonopah, Nevada near a dirt road.
The NCSD requested the investigative assistance of the Nevada State Police - Investigation Division and detectives responded to the scene. Several evidentiary items were collected from the scene and subsequent investigation revealed the cause of death was homicide via several gunshot wounds.
Over time, the Nevada State Police Investigation Division conducted several interviews and made several attempts to further the investigation and identify the unknown homicide victim through fingerprints, dental records, press releases, and evidentiary items located at the scene.
Nevertheless, no significant leads were established. As DNA technology evolved, a mitochondrial DNA profile for the unknown homicide victim was obtained and entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs.)
In March of 2022, the FBI, Nevada State Police and NamUS enlisted the assistance of Othram, an American company specializing in forensic genealogy, to perform advanced forensic DNA testing of the remains of the unknown homicide victim and a genealogy search. The results of the testing by Othram produced a genetic report and several new leads for Detectives. With the assistance of the FBI, the remains were positively identified in December of 2023 as Albert Matas of Commerce, California. Further investigation revealed that the family of Albert had lost all contact with him in September of 1978.
The investigation into the death of Albert Matas is still ongoing. Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact the Nevada State Police- Investigation Division at 775-684-7456.
The services provided by Othram for this case were funded by the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs). NamUs is a national clearinghouse funded and administered by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and managed through a contract with Research Triangle Institute (RTI) International that assists the criminal justice community with the investigation and resolution of missing, unidentified, and unclaimed persons cases across the United States and its territories.
The Nevada State Police is grateful to RTI, NamUs, NIJ, and the FBI for their assistance with this investigation.