In June 1982, 15-year-old Dewayne Surls left Moscow, Idaho, with an 18-year-old friend, Michael Coffin, heading for Pocatello. Their blue Datsun reportedly crashed north of Riggins and investigators recovered Coffin’s body at the Salmon River crash site; he died of crash-related injuries. Surls was missing after the wreck.

Ten days later, on June 26, a boater found the remains of a young man near the mouth of the Grand Ronde River in Nez Perce County. The autopsy showed the man had been shot twice rather than drowned, but the body was not connected to Surls at the time and remained a John Doe for decades.

In 2023 advanced DNA testing and forensic genetic genealogy identified that John Doe as Dewayne Surls, recasting the incident as a homicide. No suspects have been publicly identified and no arrests have been announced. If anyone knew Dewayne, Michael, their travel plans, or saw the Datsun in June 1982, please share what information might help solve this case.