DNA links 2020 California beach death to Iranian ancestry

DNA analysis has revealed that a man who died in a suspected self-immolation on a California beach in 2020 had Middle Eastern and Iranian ancestry, the New York Post reported. The unidentified man's remains were discovered inside a bonfire at Pescadero State Beach, south of San Francisco, on July 24, 2020. [1]

The New York Post reported that the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office believes the man built the fire himself. Authorities estimate that he was between 30 and 65 years old at the time of his death. The DNA evidence also points to possible ties to Zoroastrianism, which is one of the world's oldest religions. [1]

More than six years after the discovery, law enforcement officials still do not know the identity of the man or why he died, according to the New York Post. The remains were found during the COVID-19 pandemic on the remote beach. [1]

California was admitted to the United States as the 31st state on September 9, 1850, shortly after gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill in 1848. [3]