By admin 
FLAGSTAFF, AZ (AZFamily) — A man who was killed in a train accident in northern Arizona nearly four decades ago finally has a name.
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The Flagstaff Police Department announced Friday that Timothy Lee Benally was 32 years old when he died on Oct. 20, 1989, with his identity remaining unknown for 37 years.
The case cracked open this month when the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office reached out to Flagstaff police with a possible DNA match for the unidentified remains.
That lead traced back to the Navajo Nation Police Department, which had spent years working a missing persons case on its own, according to Flagstaff Police.
Police say investigators there collected a DNA sample from a relative of the missing man and sent it off for genetic testing, and it pointed toward Benally.
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From there, Flagstaff detectives dug back into the case file and found that partial fingerprints from 1989 were still in storage at an Arizona Department of Public Safety crime lab. Examiners pulled those prints, compared them to the DNA lead, and confirmed a match.
“Our department is grateful for the diligent work conducted by the Navajo Nation Police Department and for the advancements in forensic technology that made this identification possible, Flagstaff police said in a statement. ”Most importantly, we hope this brings closure to Mr. Benally’s family who has waited decades for answers.”
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