Family and friends of a Native American man who went missing 38 years ago gathered at the Shasta County Coroner’s Office on Thursday, Aug. 6, to receive his remains.
Pit River Tribal member James Homer “Little Man” Wright Jr. was 20 years old when he went missing on Aug. 23, 1988, according to Native American advocate organization Indigenous Justice.
“His family has carried this burden” for almost four decades, said Indigenous Justice spokesperson Gabrielle Lira, who stood by Wright’s family when they spoke with the coroner’s office Thursday morning.
Wright was last reported seen riding his bicycle away from a family member’s west Redding home. Family reported that Wright said before he left that he was going to a nearby gas station. He was not heard from after that, according to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System and the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office.
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While at the coroner’s office, Wright’s mother, Florence Moran, encouraged people who lost a family member to persevere, according to Lira, and to keep checking with investigators so they didn’t give up.
Wright was preparing to go into logging and forestry when he disappeared, Lira said.
How remains from a 38-year-old cold case finally found their way home
Investigators handling the case contacted Moran and Wright’s aunt, Virginia Amorosa, after DNA evidence showed the remains belonged to Wright, Indigenous Justice representatives said in a statement issued Tuesday afternoon.
The sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit reopened the cold case in September 2025, after Moran “recognized a pair of Nike high-top shoes associated with unidentified remains recovered in a 1990 Shasta County Coroner’s case,” sheriff’s office spokesman Tim Mapes announced on Tuesday afternoon.
“It was learned that in the fall of 1990, unidentified remains were found on a small island on the Sacramento River south of Bonnyview. A second search was conducted on the island in 1991 with additional remains found,” Mapes said.
When the remains were tested in 2006-2007 — just a few years after DNA testing became available in California — there were no matches, he said. The only conclusion was they were from a man.
Detectives gathered DNA samples from family members of missing persons in the years that followed, including from Wright’s mother, according to Lira.
DNA analysis conducted in March 2026 positively identified the remains found in 1990-1991 as belonging to Wright, Mapes reported. Redding Police Department and Department of Justice investigators contacted the family on July 15.
The coroner’s office didn’t report the cause of death.
On Thursday morning, the coroner’s office “respectfully released James’ remains to his family for burial,” Mapes said. The sheriff’s office and “Redding Police Department are hopeful that the identification and return of James’ remains allows closure and healing for his family and loved ones.”
(This story was updated with new information.)
Jessica Skropanic is a features reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. She covers science, arts, social issues and news stories. Follow her on Twitter @RS_JSkropanic and on Facebook. Join Jessica on Record Searchlight Facebook groups Get Out! Nor Cal, Today in Shasta County and Shaping Redding’s Future. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. Thank you.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Redding man’s remains return to family 38 years after he went missing
Reporting by Jessica Skropanic, Redding Record Searchlight / Redding Record Searchlight
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By Jessica Skropanic, Redding Record Searchlight | USA TODAY Network
