Human Remains Found In East Bay Marina Identified

ALAMEDA, CA – Partial human remains discovered in pieces in Alameda nearly 20 years ago have been identified as a missing local man, the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office announced Thursday.

The remains, initially discovered in 2008 and 2011, belong to 20-year-old Esteban Pablo Pablo, who was last seen alive in Alameda County in 2007.

DNA comparison confirmed in June that both sets of skeletal remains belonged to the same individual, the sheriff's office said.

Partial skeletal remains of an unidentified individual were found floating in the Alameda Marina in September 2008. The remains were found “with a white or gray sock and a size 8.5 Vision brand ‘skateboarder’ type shoe,” according to investigators.

Additional skeletal remains were later discovered floating in the estuary near the 2000 block of the Embarcadero in July 2011.

Investigators were unable to determine the cause and manner of death due to having only partial remains.

In 2024, Alameda County Sheriff’s Deputy Karen Easling, technician Brandi Foscalina, and the California Department of Justice sent forensic evidence from the remains to Othram, a company that specializes in forensic genetic genealogy, Sheriff’s Office officials stated.

Othram “combines laboratory science, software, and process, to build a better and more robust infrastructure for justice,” according to its website. The technology they use “enables local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies across the United States and internationally, to break through previously impenetrable forensic DNA barriers and close previously unsolvable cases.”

Othram’s analysis of a comprehensive DNA profile confirmed a genetic relationship, leading to the identification of Pablo Pablo last month.

“Othram’s in-house forensic genetic genealogy team used the profile in a genetic genealogy investigation to develop new leads in the case,” the Office said. “With this information, investigators conducted follow-up inquiries that led them to potential relatives of the unidentified person.”

Easling and Foscalina are now working to reunite Pablo Pablo with his family in Honduras, the office stated.