CHARLES CITY COUNTY, Va. β After almost half a century of unanswered questions, a name has finally been linked to remains discovered in Charles City County in August 1979.
Advances in DNA technology have helped investigators identify the remains of 28-year-old Nick Lopsis, who disappeared from Richmond in May of that year.
His remains were discovered at Sturgeon Point in Charles City County.
"He was not identified at that time, time went on because there was no DNA evidence," said Major Kenton Givens with the Charles City County Sheriff's Office.
His family had feared Lopsis, who had an intellectual disability, was shipped off to a migrant camp when he first disappeared.
The breakthrough came in October when genetic genealogy research led detectives to the only full-blood living sister of Lopsis, living in Hanover County.
"Once the family member was located, the team went out and interviewed her, had a conversation with her, and was able to match up some of the facts," Givens said. "That family member was able to give an actual DNA swab. From that DNA swab, went to the lab itself for analysis, we waited a couple weeks and it came back a match."
Deputies say delivering the news to Lopsis's surviving family stirred emotions of both grief and relief.
"They were happy about it, of course, a little bit of sadness too, but you could tell it was a gigantic relief for them overall as well," Givens said.
No foul play was suspected in Lopsis's death, and the cold missing persons case is now officially closed. Deputies praised Virginia State Police and Richmond Police for their assistance in the investigation.
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