A curious boy's rock collection find turned out to be a significant piece of history after a bone, once nestled among stones in Arizona, was determined to belong to a Marine who died more than 70 years ago in California. The piece was discovered to be a human jawbone and has been identified as belonging to U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Everett Leland Yager, lost his life during a military training exercise in Riverside County, Calif., in 1951, azfamily.com reported.

The bone was a part of a child’s rock collection in Yavapai County, Ariz., before coming into the hands of authorities. The Yavapai County Sheriff's Office and the Yavapai County Medical Examiner's Office had been puzzled by the origin of "Rock Collection John Doe" until they referred the case to the Ramapo College IGG Center in New Jersey. Students attending a summer boot camp program, including the youngest contributor, Ethan Schwartz, made the connection to Capt. Yager within days of analyzing the DNA data, as per 12 News.

Using the help of multiple forensic facilities including the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification and Intermountain Forensics, investigators created a DNA profile that later connected the remains to Capt. Yager's living family members, confirm their suspicions about the jawbone’s identity.

While the exact manner in which the bone traveled from California through the wilderness of time and space to Arizona remains a haunting question, investigators proposed a theory. They believe a scavenger bird could have lifted and deposited the bone in Arizona. With this resolution, efforts are currently being made to return the remains to Yager's family, offering a conclusion to a long-standing riddle and a semblance of peace to those left to carry his memory.