Body part found off Calif. coast in 1984 identified as newlywed organist

"After more than 40 years, investigators have identified a mysterious jawbone that washed up on a California beach as that of a local musician who vanished during a boating accident in 1978. In May 1984, the Ventura County Sheriff's Office recovered a human mandible and teeth from Silver Strand Beach in Oxnard. The remains were determined to belong to an adult man, but efforts to identify him were unsuccessful."

"Now, thanks to DNA sequencing and a match with a living relative, the remains have been identified as those of Donald Scott Reich, a professional organist who had moved to the California coast just a week before his death. In 1978, at the age of 33, Reich had recently married and moved from Bakersfield to Ventura County, where he was working at Oxnard's Wagon Wheel Junction, an entertainment complex with a roller rink and restaurant."

"On the night of Sunday, Jan. 29, Reich met a mechanic at work named Mike Gay, a 20-year-old Oxnard resident. Gay agreed to help Reich fix the boat, and at 10 p.m. the pair were last seen at the harbor in Oxnard. The local harbormaster told reporters that he had spoken to the two men, and they said they didn't plan on leaving the harbor. The harbormaster guessed the boat only had "$2 to $3" worth of gas, and that they likely ran out."

Ventura County Sheriff's Office recovered a human mandible and teeth from Silver Strand Beach in Oxnard in May 1984. The remains belonged to an adult man but remained unidentified for decades as 'Ventura County John Doe.' DNA sequencing and a match with a living relative identified the remains as Donald Scott Reich, a 33-year-old professional organist who moved to the California coast a week before his death. Reich had recently married, worked at Oxnard's Wagon Wheel Junction, and owned a 23-foot boat needing repair. On Jan. 29, 1978, Reich and mechanic Mike Gay were last seen at the Oxnard harbor; wreckage later washed ashore at Mandalay Beach and investigators believe the boat lost power and was torn apart by surf.

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