Almost 40 years after a man’s body was found in an abandoned building in St. Paul, he has been identified, the DNA Doe Project announced Wednesday. He was Frank Nicholas Augenti, 33, whose last known address was New York City. The frozen remains of a man were discovered on Feb. 7, 1985, on the second floor of an abandoned building in Lowertown at Wall Street on Kellogg Boulevard — the old James J. Hill Office Building, now called the Great Northern. The man was believed to have been homeless, and he died of exposure in the weeks to months before his body was found, according to the DNA Doe Project, a nonprofit. The Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office brought the case to the DNA Doe Project, for which investigative genetic genealogists volunteer to identity John and Jane Does. The project’s team started working on the case in May and said they homed in on the man’s identity after two days of research. “It was immediately clear from the DNA results that the unidentified man had Italian heritage,” said Sara Hoffman, team co-leader, in a statement. “When we came across Frank Augenti, we saw that all four of his grandparents had immigrated to America from Italy.” Augenti was born in Nov. 7, 1951 in Nanticoke, Pa. He “had dropped off the radar in the 1980s,” and the team found more evidence to suggest he could be the John Doe in St. Paul. They gave his name to the medical examiner’s office and his identification was confirmed in August. “We were very fortunate that a cousin had chosen to upload their DNA results to GEDmatch,” said Lisa Ivany, team co-leader. “Without their DNA, this case would still be unsolved. Italian Americans are underrepresented on the DNA databases we have access to, but the more that people upload their DNA results to GEDmatch, FTDNA or DNA Justice, the more cases we’ll be able to solve.” Frank (Francis) Nicholas Augenti graduated eighth grade from St. Francis of Assisi School in 1965, Nanticoke High School in 1969, and then attended an art school in Allentown, Pa., his family wrote in an obituary in August. “Frank was quiet, respectful and kind,” his family said. “He served as an altar boy at St. Francis in his youth. In high school, he would jam with his friends in their ‘basement band.’ His friends referred to him as ‘Hogie.’ Frank was a very talented artist and is sadly missed by all who knew him.” His parents are deceased, and he is survived by three sisters. “Please keep Frank in your prayers. May he rest in peace,” the obituary concluded. “As for family: “Though our branches grow in different directions, our roots remain as ONE.” Related Articles Crime & Public Safety | Washington County officials report a spate of bail and jury scams Crime & Public Safety | Section of Minnesota 36 gets higher speed limit, for safety reasons Crime & Public Safety | Police chief says motive for Wisconsin school shooting was a ‘combination of factors’ Crime & Public Safety | Woman killed after being struck by garbage truck in Woodbury Crime & Public Safety | Teacher and a teenage student killed in a shooting at a Christian school in Madison, Wis.