(KSTP) — An Owatonna man is in custody and charged with murder after genetic genealogy linked him to the 1974 slaying of a Minneapolis woman found in Dunn County.

Jon Miller, 84, was arrested Thursday for the murder of Mary Schlais, who was found dead in Spring Brook Township on Feb. 16, 1974.

An investigation at the time revealed that Schlais had hitchhiked from Minneapolis to Chicago for an art exhibition.

Dunn County Sheriff’s Office law enforcement officials said they have received numerous tips and leads in the decades since Schlais’ body was found. As DNA technology improved, authorities retested evidence found at the scene many times.

Genetic genealogy testing in collaboration with Ramapo College in Mahwah, New Jersey, revealed a suspect, which led to Miller’s arrest on Thursday.

“This is a huge victory for our agency,” Dunn County Sheriff Kevin Bygd said. “I was sitting at the deer stand yesterday when I received a text from Investigator (Dan) Westlund; “I had a hard time coming down and controlling my excitement.”

Charging documents from Dunn County Circuit Court stated that the DNA came from an orange and black sock cap found near Schlais’ body in 1974.

This DNA was traced back to its source to a number of partial relatives, and investigators say it eventually led them to Miller.

“He essentially provided us with some leads, certain family lineages, that we were able to follow up on, which ultimately led us to the arrest,” Westlund said.

Miller initially denied any knowledge of the murder, the document states. However, when presented with DNA evidence, he reportedly admitted to taking Schlais.

According to the document, Miller told investigators that he requested sexual intercourse from Schlais, but the request was denied. Miller said he grabbed a knife he kept in the passenger seat visor as Schlais leaned forward and stabbed him until he died, according to the complaint.

He later reportedly tried to hide her body in a snowbank but was frightened when he saw another vehicle pass by and leave the area.

The complaint stated that Miller admitted that the hat belonged to him and that he must have lost it during the murder.

Miller is currently in custody and awaiting extradition to Wisconsin. He is charged with first-degree murder.

“It’s been a long time since this happened,” said Don Schlais, Mary’s brother, adding that he was grateful to Dunn County for never forgetting his sister. “They have maintained faith in law enforcement for almost generations.”

Don added that Mary loved art and horses and graduated from the University of Minnesota. He says he was in a master’s program in fine arts at the time.

“I wasn’t prepared for this to happen, for me to be dead and gone before I got an answer; The whole thing was a sudden surprise,” Don said.

“It is incredibly satisfying to finally put an end to this and bring someone into custody for this,” Sheriff Bygd added.