CANTON, Ohio — Sadness. Shock. Confusion. Those are some of the feelings Rae Ann Calai experienced when she learned a Stark County 'John Doe' turned out to be her younger brother, Mike Leach.
But she said one word might sum it up best — blindsided.
"I couldn't believe it whenever we heard the news. It just seemed so unreal that this has happened to him," Calai said.
When she reflects on their childhood together, Calai remembers Leach as a happy, smiling boy who liked riding bikes in their Tuscarawas County neighborhood.
However, as they got older, the siblings began to drift apart. Leach lost contact with family members, including his sister.
"We simply just didn't take the time to stay in contact. There wasn't any one thing that ever happened," Calai said. "No real problems. We just lost contact with each other."
Investigators said Leach lived at a homeless shelter in New Philadelphia for a few months before moving to a home in Dover in 2017.
His disappearance, likely that year, went unnoticed. Calai and other relatives never realized he was missing. They assumed he was living his life somewhere in the area.
Leach's remains were discovered by a contractor near an oil well off Sandy Avenue in Pike Township in March 2020.
Investigators struggled to identify him for four years and unveiled a clay model reconstruction of his face in 2021 and digitally created images in 2023 to appeal to the public for leads.
But in February, investigators showed up at Calai's home and said they had tentatively identified her brother from a bone that was submitted to the DNA Doe Project.
A laboratory analysis generated a DNA profile that was then uploaded to GEDmatch Pro and FamilyTreeDNA.com.
Then, volunteer investigative genetic genealogists with the DNA Doe Project took 105 hours to build out John Doe’s family tree to locate the branch of Michael Leach.
To confirm Leach's identity, detectives requested a DNA sample from Calai.
"They just swabbed my cheek," she told News 5.
Calai said several months passed, but in July, she received word from the investigators that her brother's remains were confirmed, leaving her with a mixture of emotions and more questions.
"I was relieved to know that it was really him, but not. I don't know how to explain how that made my feel. It just made me feel terrible," she said. "Who did it and why? Who and why? Nobody, whoever they are, doesn't deserve to lose their life, however it was."
The Stark County coroner said Leach suffered a skull fracture and multiple shoulder and rib fractures. His cause of death is listed as undetermined, but the case is being handled as a homicide. It's believed he was about 61 years old at the time of his death.
"I don't know how somebody could hurt someone and just leave them," Calai said.
Calai said she's extremely grateful to investigators who never gave up on the case.
During a news conference on Thursday, Sheriff George Maier said his team is still working to get answers for the family.
Mystery solved: 'John Doe' found dead near Stark County oil well in 2020 identified as Mike Leach
"We offer our condolences for your loss. We also offer our commitment to continuously, relentlessly pursue those who may be responsible for his death," Maier said.
Calai said those words in particular really hit home for her.
"When I heard that, it made my heart just so full. It did," she said.
Calai said she feels confident that one day detectives will figure out who should be held accountable for her brother's death, but for now, her focus is honoring him— the man who finally got his name back.
"We want his memory to live and not be forgotten," she said. "He's still my brother."
The investigation regarding Leach’s death continues, and anyone with information is asked to contact the Stark County Sheriff’s Office at 330-430-3800. The public can also communicate with the Stark County Sheriff’s Office using the mobile app, which can be downloaded for free via the app store on any smartphone by searching Stark Sheriff Ohio.
