Police in Ohio said Tuesday that human remains uncovered in 1982 have been identified as Frank “Frankie” Little Jr. of R&B group The O’Jays.
The Twinsburg Police Department credited “the genealogical research of the DNA Doe Project” for help in identifying the remains found in a garbage bag almost 40 years ago. The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation Crime Lab used a DNA sample from Little's brother.
“It is believed he was last alive in the mid-1970s,” police said, in a release. “Not much is known about his disappearance and death.”
In a statement, The O’Jays said: “Frankie was a guitarist and songwriter in the very early O’Jays. He came with us when we first ventured out of Cleveland and travelled to Los Angeles, but he also was in love with a woman in Cleveland that he missed so much that he soon returned back to Cleveland after a short amount of time. That was in the mid 1960s and we had not heard from him after then.
“Although this sounds like a tragic ending, we wish his family and friends closure to what appears to be a very sad story.”
Little joined The O’Jays in the mid-60s and worked with Eddie Levert on songs like “Do the Jerk,” “Pretty Words” and “Oh, How You Hurt Me.” Little is credited with the vocals on “Down at the Corner.”
Little had a daughter who died in 2012 and a son who police believe is still alive but whose location is unknown.