Father of 3 disappeared amid violent waves. How a single bone unraveled the case

A fishing tragedy off Humboldt Bay in Northern California led to a decades-long mystery that was only recently resolved. On Dec. 14, 1999, the Silver Spray hit a powerful 18-foot wave that ripped off the top of the boat, sending four men into the dark as the 35-foot vessel sank. Captain Al Burns described being tossed underwater. One crew member, Jonathan Raxa, a 37-year-old crab fisherman, was never found. In March 2026, a bone washed ashore at Centerville Beach, about 20 miles from the crash site. Deputies identified it as a human sacrum and obtained a DNA sample that matched one from Raxa’s son, allowing investigators to close the case after roughly three decades.