Remains of WWII soldier identified 76 years after listed as MIA

PORTLAND, Ore. — The remains of a World War II soldier who went missing in final weeks of the Guadalcanal campaign have been identified 76 years after he was listed as missing in action.

The Department of Defense says skeletal remains found in a bag recovered two years ago in the South Pacific are those of Pfc. Dale W. Ross, whose surviving family lives in Ashland, Oregon.

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The remains and the dog tags were found by an 8-year-old boy in the jungle and his family gave them to a visiting American tourist, asking her to help find the soldier's surviving family.

The woman, Donna Esposito, found Ross' nephew and niece and the family gave the bones to the military for analysis.

The trio traveled to the Solomon Islands in 2017.

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