Timothy Lee Benally was recently identified as the person who was hit by a freight train in Flagstaff 37 years ago

NEED TO KNOW

• Timothy Lee Benally, a long-missing Arizona man, was recently identified as the John Doe killed by a freight train in 1989
• “After nearly four decades of unanswered questions, our family is now facing the emotional journey of bringing our father home,” his daughter, Febyrika Benally, wrote on GoFundMe
• Timothy, a U.S. Navy veteran, was 32 years old when he died

A long-missing U.S. Navy veteran was recently identified as the victim of a fatal freight train accident that occurred in Flagstaff, Ariz., 37 years ago.

Using stored fingerprints and modern DNA technology, multiple Arizona agencies confirmed that Timothy Lee Benally is the John Doe who was struck and killed by a freight train in 1989. He was 32.

“To our shock, we discovered that my father was connected to a cold case in Coconino County, dating back to October 20, 1989,” the victim’s daughter, Febyrika Benally, wrote on a GoFundMe, adding, “His remains were positively identified by Flagstaff Police Department on September 22.”

She continued, writing, “After nearly four decades of unanswered questions, our family is now facing the emotional journey of bringing our father home to Rough Rock located on the Navajo Reservation.”

In a Sunday, Sept. 27 news release, the Navajo Police Department (NPD) explained how the mystery behind the unidentified remains was solved. 

This May, NPD’s Missing Person’s Unit, along with the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification, contacted Timothy’s relatives to obtain DNA samples to establish a match.

Four months later, a match was received, identifying the 1989 Flagstaff cold case train victim as Timothy.

“He was a deceased unidentified person all these years until we submitted the DNA for comparison,” said Israel Tsosie, a detective for NPD’s Missing Person’s Unit. “For us to be able to identify their loved one, that’s the most important thing, but it also brings resolution to the family.”

At the time of his death, authorities were unable to identify him, only describing the victim as a Native American between 30 and 55 years old.

Timothy’s daughter remembered her dad as “funny, outgoing, sociable” and someone who “laughed a lot,” per NPD, which shared the family’s GoFundMe raising money to bring his remains home and to cover expenses tied to his funeral.

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Febyrika wrote on the fundraiser’s page, “Our hope is to bring my father home and lay him to rest with the dignity, love and respect he deserves.”

Aside from the Navajo and Flagstaff police departments and the UNT Center for Human Identification, other agencies that contributed to resolving this cold case were the Arizona Department of Public Safety’s Northern Regional Crime Laboratory, the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office and the Chandler Police Department.

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