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More than 10 years after a man’s skeletal remains were found along Interstate 90 in southern Minnesota, he has finally been positively identified as a World War II veteran who was born in El Paso, Texas.

The DNA Doe Project helped the Freeborn County Sheriff’s Office identify Luis Gilberto Robledo

. He was born in El Paso 1923, served in World War II and Robledo was wounded during the Battle of Normandy. Records show he settled in Los Angeles after the war and lived for a time in Mexico around 1990.

But other mysteries remain unsolved, including how, when and why Robledo ended up in Minnesota and how he died. Authorities believe that he died sometime between 2000 and 2012, but know little more than that, as the investigation into his death remains open.

“This was a case that I had little hope of solving ten years ago,” said Freeborn County Sheriff Ryan Shea in a news release. “The positive identification of Luis Robledo has given us a big step forward in the case. I am happy we are able to provide some answers to his family after all these years. We can let them know where his grave site is, should they want to come and visit.”

Robledo’s skeletal remains were found on April 6, 2015 off of I-90 near Albert Lea, Minnesota. According to the Freeborn County Sheriff’s Office news release, on or near the remains were a pair of Levi’s brand pants, Stafford brand underwear and Mario de Gerard loafers. Initially, forensic investigators believed that the man was between 40 to 55 years old. However, Robledo was likely in his 70s or 80s at the time of his death.

Also found near his remains was a 10-carat gold ring with a ruby colored stone and some coins dating between 1965 to 1992. Robledo’s DNA was provided in 2024 to the DNA Doe Project, and his DNA profile revealed that he was of Mexican descent. Jeana Feehery, DNA Doe Project team leader, said that Robledo had a number of close DNA matches in the GEDmatch database. 

“Hispanic cases are often tough because that population is underrepresented in the DNA databases we have access to,” Feehery said. “But in this case, we were lucky to have close DNA matches on both the mother’s side and the father’s side, which allowed us to identify our John Doe’s parents within 24 hours.” 

Robledo was the son of a couple who’d moved to the U.S. and settled in El Paso. They had three sons, but only one was unaccounted for—Luis Robledo. Robledo, a World War II veteran, was wounded during the Battle of Normandy. According to records, he was born and raised in Texas but later moved to Los Angeles, California. The last trace that the team could find of Robledo in public records was a 1990 obituary that stated he was living in Mexico. 

The project team reported their findings and investigators contacted Robledo’s family with assistance from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. The Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office, The Colorado Bureau of Investigation and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department facilitated the DNA testing. 

Robledo’s case is still open. If anyone has any information is encouraged to call the Freeborn County Sheriff’s Office at 507-377-5200. 

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Hannah Yang

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For more than 10 years, authorities in Freeborn County were puzzled as they tried to figure out who was the man whose skeletal remains were found along Interstate 90 near Albert Lea. Now that part of the mystery is solved and DNA testing identified him as a World War II veteran who was born in El Paso, Texas. 

A man’s remains were found along I-90 a decade ago. They’ve finally been identified as a WWII veteran

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