Overview
- Ventura County investigators, who disclosed Tuesday they had made a positive ID, asked anyone who knew Joseph Patrick Reardon to contact the Cold Case Unit.
- The case began on Aug. 30, 1993, when a lower leg bone was found at a dump site off Beardsley Road near Wright Road outside Camarillo and logged in the national NamUs database.
- Detectives sent the evidence to Othram in March 2025, and the lab built a DNA profile that produced genealogical leads to close relatives.
- Using those leads and rapid DNA testing, the Cold Case Unit identified the victim as Reardon, born June 17, 1970, who also used the name Joe Gilbreth.
- Records show he was a Channel Islands High freshman under the name Joe Gilbreth in early 1985, lived in an Oxnard group home that year, and later attended Hughson High in 1986, with investigators now seeking tips at 805-383-8723.