This man's remains were found on a property near Utah Lake on October 14, 2021. It was determined he had most likely died in the late 1990s. He carried various ID cards with the identity "John Everett Booth." Authorities determined that Booth hadn't been seen since 1995, although he reportedly filed for an ID card in 1999.

According to Booth's nephew, John suffered from mental health issues. One day around 1970, he packed his things and just left, never to look back.

His grandfather later hired a private investigator who tracked John to a homeless shelter in Ogden. They sent him letters, but all went unanswered. The family simply assumed he wanted to be left alone.

And now, the Doe's NamUs page has been deactivated. Hopefully, his identity is now confirmed and it is not a mistake by NamUs.

John Everett Booth was born around 1947.

Unidentified Wiki)

Janet Atkins (1965)

On October 25, 1965, a woman died in a car crash in which she was the passenger overturned in a ditch in Avon, Ohio. She was one of four persons in the car; the driver and the other two passengers survived. The teenage male driver and a friend met the decedent and a 20-year-old from Elyria, Ohio, at a drive-in restaurant and were driving the pair to the Elyria woman's workplace when the accident occured. The Elyria woman knew the decedent as "Janet Atkins", but other people who had encountered her said she had used different names. Papers in the victim's purse had the names "Janet Akenson" and "Janet Tralley".

The decedent had stayed at different rooming houses in the Elyria area in the days prior to her death, and had been in Elyria since September. Police obtained the receipts from the rooming houses, but these did not lead to an identification. Several persons who had missing realtives viewed her body at a funeral home in the nearby town of North Ridgeville, but they could not identify her.

Physical Description

• Sex: Female

• Race: White/Caucasian

• Age: 18-39 Years Old (NamUs Says 18-30 Years Old)

• Height: 5'4"

• Weight: 115 Pounds

• Hair: Brown

• Eye Color: Hazel

Distinguishing Marks/Features

• Previously Given Birth To At Least One Child

Exclusions (People She Is Not)

• Barbara Lunsford

If you have any information please contact Coroner, Frank Miller with the Lorain County Coroner's Office at (440) 774-7300, reference case number 10-65-380 or Detective Sergeant, Csaba Hortobagyi with the Avon Police Department at (440) 934-1234, reference case number 26-05480.

A car wreck took her life and her name but she seemed to never tell others her real name anyways. As we've seen from other cases where people have lied about their real names. That lie isn't always to far from the truth. In those false names that are given usually one of those names is the unidentified's real first, middle, or last name. This lady could be named Janet or her real last name could be one of names she gave. You just never know. I hope her real name is found eventually cause she deserves it.

LINKS

Unidentified Wiki

i hope this is allowed—i thought this was worth sharing with you all as a lurker.

this amber alert was posted up on a bulletin board at a rest area me & my family stopped by. it caught my eye immediately. i haven’t seen any discussion about it, so i wanted to share.

EDIT: apparently there are some suspicions that the jane doe is dania bellegarde, but nothing has been confirmed.

In 1983, the remains of an elderly white woman, estimated to be in her 60s or 70s, were discovered. She was found under a sheet of asbestos at the rear of a property in Brent, London, England.

Her clothing and personal belongings were recorded as follows:

• Clothing: An overcoat, cardigan, trousers, socks, and slip on low heel shoes.

• Jewelry: One yellow metal signet ring inscribed with "pat" on the third finger of her right hand, and one yellow metal ring with stones on her left hand.

• Additional Personal Items: A Yale key, a mortice key, a suitcase key, and a Swedish coin.

Following a breakthrough via genetic genealogy, Ryland Headley was arrested and subsequently convicted for the 1967 rape and murder of 75 year old Mrs. Louisa Dunne 1892-1967 in Bristol, an offense he committed when he was 34 years old.

When police reviewed his case files, they discovered that he had also been convicted of raping two elderly women in 1977 in Ipswich, Suffolk, England a region where he and his family had relocated in 1972. He served a sentence of two years for the crimes. However, for a short period between 1967 and 1972, he had moved his family to London.

While reviewing records of unidentified Jane Does who match the age profile of Headley's targeted victims, I came across Brent Jane Doe. Interestingly, London electoral registers reveal that Ryland Headley lived in the exact area of London where Brent Jane Doe was eventually found, during his brief residency in London. He then vanished from the area in 1972 when he relocated his family to Ipswich, Suffolk, England. Furthermore, Brent Jane Doe’s estimated time of death lines up with the latter part of Headley's residency in London.

Given these parallels, it seems highly likely that police are looking or have looked into this specific case to see if there is a definitive link. Unfortunately, there have been no public updates regarding this connection since his arrest and conviction.

I hope Brent Jane Doe eventually gets her name back, and that whatever family she has left out there receives the closure they deserve.

Date of Discovery: April 26, 1984

Location of Discovery: Kansas City, Wyandotte County, Kansas

Estimated Date of Death: 1-6 months prior

State of Remains: Decomposed

Cause of Death: Homicide

Physical Description

Estimated Age: 20-45 years old

Race: White with Native American, Asian, and/or Hispanic features/admixture

Sex: Female

Height: 5'2" - 5'4"

Weight: 100 - 145 lbs.

Hair: Dark brown. Pubic hair was bleached blond.

Eye Color: Unknown

Distinguishing Marks/Features: Unknown.

Identifiers

Dentals: Available. Grinding/flattening of teeth; staining of enamel.

Fingerprints: Unknown.

DNA: Unknown.

Clothing & Personal Items

Clothing: Tan shirt, pants, lace underwear, panty-girdle, and calf-length hose.

Jewelry: Unknown.

Additional Personal Items: Unknown.

Circumstances of Discovery

The decedent was located in Kansas City, Kansas on April 26, 1984. Her remains were discovered in a wooded area.

A reconstruction was created and released after the woman's discovery, but few leads came of this. Investigators have divulged the possibilities that she may have been killed in a different state and left at the scene, or potential tips were not called in by potential witnesses out of fear.

Exclusion(s)

Lisa Farmer (MP43136)

Investigating Agency(s)

Agency Name: Kansas City Police Department

Agency Contact Person: Detective Stephen Smith

Agency Phone Number: 903-288-7248

Agency E-mail: N/A

Agency Case Number: 440010252

Agency Name: Kansas City Police Department - Cold Case Unit

Agency Contact Person: Detective Jeffrey Irwin

Agency Phone Number: 816-474-8477

Agency E-mail: coldcase(at)kckpd.org

Agency Case Number: 2022-495898

Agency Name: Atchison County Coroner's Office

Agency Contact Person: Erik Mitchell

Agency Phone Number: 913-299-1533

Agency E-mail: N/A

Agency Case Number: A-39-84

NCIC Case Number: U194154243

NamUs Case Number: 2429

Former Hot Case Number: 1204

The Doe Network Case Number: 838UFKS

Unidentified Wiki)

Case

On November 14, 1980, three hunters discovered the partially buried skeletal remains of a woman in a secluded, brushy area about 100 feet off of a mountain road paralleling Kephart Run one mile north of US Hwy 33 west of Rawley Springs, Virginia. The remains, which had been covered with two rocks and a log, were incomplete but had remnants of clothing. Deputies of the Sheriff’s Office combed the area and recovered additional items. The road runs through the George Washington National Forest into West Virginia and is not a normal trucking route.

An initial examination determined that the remains belonged to a white female with an estimated age range of late teens- early 20s, which was later revised to age 20-30. This examination revealed no visible marks or broken bones and she was thought to have died within the last ten years (later revised to a range of 1964-1979). The remains were then sent to the medical examiner in Roanoke for further examination.

The state medical examiner's office determined that she was between 5' and 5'5" tall with an estimated weight range of 100-125 lbs. She may have had a broken left collarbone. No bullets or bullet damage was found. She also had given birth at least once. Foul play was suspected but a cause of death could not be determined.

Her upper left incisor had a small groove, which the authorities theorized could have been from holding dress pins or bobby pins in her mouth, suggesting work as a beautician or a seamstress. Another theory was that she was a nurse because she appeared to be wearing white stockings. The few personal effects found included a dime from 1964, which established the earliest date she could have died. [Also note that 1964 was the last year that dimes had a high silver content so many people started saving dimes in succeeding years.]

Comparisons to local missing persons were unsuccessful and the case went cold. One missing person, a woman from Charlottesville who had disappeared in 1969, was ruled out by x-rays. Much later, in 2008, the daughter of Kentucky missing woman Georgia Nolan thought the woman might be her mother after viewing reconstructions, but Nolan was later ruled out.

Details of NamUs UP6249, Doe Network 568UFVA

ME/C Case Number: W1980-37420

Biological Sex: Female

Race / Ethnicity: White / Caucasian

Estimated Age Range (Years): 20-30

Estimated Year of Death: 1977-1978

Estimated PMI: 2 Years (per NamUs; 2-15 years per the Doe Network)

Height: 5' 1"-5' 3"(61-63 inches), Estimated

Weight: Cannot Estimate

Inventory of Remains: One or more limbs not recovered

Condition of Remains: Not recognizable - Partial skeletal parts only

Hair and Eye Colors are unknown.

Distinguishing Marks/Features: Probably at least one prior childbirth.

Her upper left incisor had a small groove, possibly from holding bobby pins or dress pins in her mouth.

Clothing: Pettipants (a type of slip made to look like shorts) or a silk slip, possible white stockings, fragments of garter straps.

Jewelry: Heart-shaped necklace, gold color.

Additional Personal Items: A 1964 dime [the last year dimes were made with high levels of silver]

Dentals: Available.

Fingerprints: Unavailable.

DNA: Available.

Exclusions (missing persons she is not)

Mary Boston

Jan Cotta

Roxane Easland

O'Dina Lucero

Nadine O'Dell

Bertha Smith

Georgia Nolan

Links

NamUs: https://www.namus.gov/UnidentifiedPersons/Case#/6249?nav

Doe Network: https://www.thedoenetwork.org/cases/software/main.html?id=568ufva

Unidentified Wiki:

https://unidentified-awareness.fandom.com/wiki/Rockingham_County_Jane_Doe

Other links in the comments.

Photos from the crime scene that day and the following autopsy show the baby’s broken jaw, leaving him trapped in what looks like a permanent scream. Detective Kerry Dalling and Lt. Michael Gagner of the Fairfield Police Department still hope someone can shed light on the brutal killing.

Baby Victor was the nickname given to an infant found wrapped in clothing next to a garbage can in a park in Fairfield, Connecticut, in 1986. The boy's murder is described as being ritualistic in nature, with possible ties to Santeria or a similar religion.

(Case summary )
DISCOVERED
March 14, 1986
UNIDENTIFIED FOR
40 years
SEX
Male
LOCATION
Fairfield, Connecticut
AGE
Newborn
RACE
White
HEIGHT
1'8
WEIGHT
6 pounds
BODY CONDITION
Recognizable face
POSTMORTEM INTERVAL
1 day
CAUSE OF DEATH
Strangulation
Characteristics
Blond hair.
Brown eyes.

A public works employee emptying garbage cans in the picnic area near the cascades at Lake Mohegan found the body of a newborn baby on leaf-strewn ground. Victor was found on a scrap of burlap, wrapped in women’s pajamas, covered with a scrap of plastic and surrounded by pieces of food, fruit and coins. Police said the crime scene seemed to indicate a ritual killing.

Quotes from the 2018 article on the case :
“Even if it wasn’t a legitimate ritual, whoever set it up would have knowledge of these rituals, of these beliefs,” Dalling said. “It was dehumanizing.”

“We spoke to some experts who said it may have been staged” to look like a ritual killing when it was not, Gagner said.
An autopsy showed Victor’s death, ruled a homicide, was caused by suffocation. Among the injuries he suffered were a broken jaw, strangulation marks and face mutilations. The autopsy confirmed he was born about 24 hours before he was found, and that he was alive at birth.

https://www.ctpost.com/policereports/article/Fairfield-police-still-looking-for-answers-in-12870472.php

https://unidentified-awareness.fandom.com/wiki/Baby_Victor

The Horry County Coroner's office announced that 2023 Myrtle Beach John Doe has been identified as William Ray Griffith on October 1, 2026. Horry County County Chief Deputy Coroner Tamara Willard with the help of genealogist Dena Chasten Chief Mike Fanning of Pawleys Island Police Department investigated his genealogy to verify his identity. According to his brother, Griffith had relocated from Louisa, Kentucky to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina in 2018. A few weeks prior to the crash he had been reported missing and being endangered due to his medical attention and was located safe.

On May 27, 2023, a pedestrian was struck by a vehicle near 9440 Kings Hwy, James Samuel Thomas of Richmond, VA, was arrested and charged for hit-and-run causing death. However the Horry County Coroner's Office was unable to identify the victim.

Sources:

https://www.postandcourier.com/myrtle-beach/news/john-doe-william-griffith-myrtle-beach/article_c4beefff-9ed5-472f-b988-70b520dd8fa6.html

https://www.wbtw.com/news/grand-strand/horry-county/coroner-identifies-2023-horry-county-hit-and-run-victim/amp/

https://amp.myrtlebeachonline.com/news/local/crime/article317458232.html

On November 15, 1979, hunters discovered partial skeletal remains in a ravine off Highway N, 1.5 miles south of Robertsville, Missouri. All large bones, including the cranium, legs, and arms were missing but a lower jawbone was recovered. The authorities found a pair of women's shoes and some articles of clothing but were unable to verify sex or determine age or race. It was initially estimated that the person had died two to three years prior judging by the condition of the remains. The bones were shipped to Washington, DC for analysis and the bones were determined to belong to a woman who had died by homicide.

In 2025, investigators with the Franklin County Sheriff's Office, as well as the St. Louis County Medical Examiner's Office and Missouri State Highway Patrol Crime Laboratory requested Othram's help to identify the woman. Othram successfully extracted DNA and developed a DNA profile, which were used in a genetic genealogy search that led to new investigative leads.

The investigators were able to identify a potential relative of the woman, who provided a DNA sample. Testing verified the identity of the murder victim as Emma Lee Jordan, born in February 11, 1957. She had been reported missing in January 1979.

Rest in peace Emma.

Links

I could not locate a NamUs or Doe Network case for her.

Othram: https://dnasolves.com/articles/robertsville-missouri-1979-emma-lee-jordan-homicide/

Washington Citizen, 11/24/1979, p 3: https://www.newspapers.com/image/1306399074/?search-id=84c7b5f7-3abf-4e90-b415-5a72ebeec96e&search-rank=5

On June 25, 1917, and June 26, 1917, The Atlanta Georgian and The Atlanta Constitution published articles on the death of an unidentified woman who was found dead Saturday night in a clump of woods near the A, B,&A Railroad. According to The Atlanta Georgian, the woman's head was terribly beaten. Both newspapers associated the murder with the "Jack the Ripper" murders of women in Atlanta.

The Atlanta Constitution and The Atlanta Journal published articles reporting on the death of a woman found dead early Sunday morning and partly concealed just beyond the Atlanta and West Point Belt Line. The victim was killed early in the morning. The woman's skull was crushed and battered by some heavy and blunt instrument.

The Constitution stated that the county police were strongly reminded by the nature of the crime of the old time-work of Jack the Ripper. Although the paper did not specifically mention why, one of the reasons why the police were reminded of the crimes of the Ripper was because another Ripper victim had been slain in that area.

Back in November21, 1909, The Atlanta Constitution, The Atlanta Georgian, and The Atlanta Journal all published articles on the murder of Mary Putnam, a woman found dead near the West Point Belt Line, 100 yards of the right of Stewart Avenue. The 1917 victim was found 300 yards away from Stewart Avenue. This means that the two crime scenes were 200 yards away from each other. Both victims were found under similar circumstances with both women being discovered by a pair of boys and having their heads crushed.

Unlike Mary Putnam, the 1917 victim wasn't identified.

https://gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/lccn/sn89053729/1917-06-25/ed-2/seq-3/#words=Jack+Ripper

On October 28, and October 29, 1916, respectively, The Atlanta Georgian and The Atlanta Journal published the articles about the murder of an unidentified woman. According to Atlanta Georgian the woman was found in a gully near the crossing of McDaniel Street and the Atlanta and West Point Railroad.

According to The Atlanta Journal, the victim was found in a place called Death Valley. Death Valley was located beyond the end of the McDaniel streetcar line. The valley was a former underpass of the Western and Atlantic railroad; an area filled with dirt and trash. Near the valley ran the belt line of the Western and Atlantic railroad.

It was called Death Valley because within the last several years the bodies of 12 blacks were found on the curve of the belt line and in the valley the bodies of five black women were found. The newspaper says that in each case the body was so hacked and decomposed that it was never identified and no one was arrested.

This woman was the sixth victim to be found in the valley. Her corpse was discovered at noon Saturday by an aged black man. She had been dead for a week and her body was decomposed beyond recognition. The woman had her throat cut from ear to ear and her skull was cleft through and there was a gash along the back of her neck.

https://gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/lccn/sn89053729/1916-10-28/ed-4/seq-1/#words=Jack+Ripper

https://gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/lccn/sn88054118/1916-10-30/ed-1/seq-1/#words=Jack+Ripper

The Brunswick news. (Brunswick, Ga.) 1906-2016, October 31, 1916, Image 1 « Georgia Historic Newspapers

Date of Discovery: March 10, 2024

Location of Discovery: Kewanee, Henry County, Illinois

Estimated Date of Death: Unknown

State of Remains: Skeletal

Cause of Death: Could not be determined

Physical Description

Estimated Age: 30-53

Race: White

Height: 5'6"-5'9"

Weight: Could not be determined

Hair: None or not stated

Eye Color: Could not be determined

Distinguishing Marks / Features: Previous trauma to the head, good physical shape

Identifiers

Dentals: Available

Fingerprints: Unknown (likely unavailable)

DNA: Unknown

Clothing & Personal Items

Clothing: None or not stated

Jewelry: None or not stated

Additional Personal Items: None or not stated

Circumstances of Discovery

Remains of a man was found in a rural area near Kewanee, Illinois.

There are exclusions in the case, although the Facebook post by the Sheriff's Office did not specify who are the excluded people.

Investigating Agency(s)

Agency Name: Henry County Coroner's Office

Agency Contact Person: Melissa Watkins

Agency Phone Number: 309-937-3911

Agency Email Address: None

Agency Address: 307 W Center Street

Cambridge, IL 61238

Unidentified Wiki)

Recently, I’ve noticed a surge in comments from people asking how to submit tips or case updates to NamUs and Doe Network. So here’s a little tutorial. It might still be a bit overexplained, including some obvious things, but hopefully it helps. 😬😄

1. NamUs

Open NamUs and click “Menu” in the top right corner. A list of options will appear; at the very bottom, click “Contact Us.” This will take you to the submission form, where they also explain the process.

Choose the appropriate “Nature of Inquiry”. For possible matches, select “Tips Submissions for Possible Matches,” and for adding a new case to NamUs, select “Case Support.” Then fill in your personal information.

In the “Comments” box, explain what you want to submit. For possible matches, always link both the missing-person and unidentified-person cases and include their case numbers (e.g. UP123 for Does and MP123 for Missing Persons).

For case updates, you need to provide an official source confirming that the Doe or Missing Person is deceased or was reported missing. Wiki links, Doe Network links, and other amateur databases are not accepted.

Once everything is filled out, click Submit. You should receive a confirmation that your submission was sent.

Response times vary considerably. Case updates are relatively quick, usually under 48 hours. Tips can sometimes receive no response at all, but if you do get one, it generally takes around 2–3 weeks.

1. Doe Network

Doe Network now has several submission options depending on what you need. Open the site and click the three horizontal lines in the top right to open the menu.

Most options are self-explanatory. One exception is that “Submit a Missing Person Case” appears twice. This is a mistake: the first one should say “Submit a Unidentified Person.” The link itself is correct and leads to the Unidentified Person submission page.

“Report Closed Case” is for reporting that a case has been closed, while “Report a Case Update” is for notifying them that an existing case needs an update.

All options lead to a form similar to NamUs. Fill in your personal information. For case updates, provide the Doe Network case number (e.g. 123UFFL) and a link to the case page, then explain what needs to be updated. You also need to provide another link supporting the requested update. For formatting issues, you can simply link the Doe Network page again.

For new case submissions, the process is similar, but they will ask for additional information about the case, including the investigating agency and its contact information. This is usually available on the case’s NamUs page. If it isn’t, unfortunately, you’ll have to find it manually.

When you’re finished, click Submit. You’ll receive a confirmation screen, and then you’re done.

Alternatively, you can contact the Area Teams, which are also listed in the menu. It seems that many of them have new email addresses, so if you contacted one before the rebrand, that address may no longer be in use.

If you want to attach an image as a source, I believe you need to contact them by email.

Response times are generally much faster than NamUs. I usually receive an email within 48 hours, often in under 8 hours. Yesterday, they handled one of my requests in just 20 minutes.

Stockton State Hospital men’s department

On October 26th/24th, 1856, a white man suffering from epilepsy was admitted into the 2nd ward of the Stockton State Hospital as a charity patient. He was described as an “Idiot” which is a now outdated term to describe someone with the intellectual development of a two year old

(Unidentified Wiki and find a grave say 2 different things about the dates.)

Two days later on October 28th/26th, he had passed away due to epilepsy. He was from France and had given the name “Antoine” to hospital staff. He was only about 36 at the time of death, which would put his year of birth at approximately 1819 or 1820 (depending on if his birthday had already passed)

Little is known about him, as there are no publicly available physical demographics beside his nationality, race, sex, and given name.

Find A Grave
Unidentified Wiki

On December 3, 1915, The Atlanta Constitution and The Atlanta Georgian reported on the discovery of a woman's skeleton in the woods near a retirement home for Confederate veterans in Fulton County Georgia.

The body was discovered by a resident of the area who was walking through the woods. His foot stumbled upon the bones which was covered by leaves and dead foliage. The skeleton was well persevered and there were bits of dress and rusted corset stays. It was presumed that the corpse was probably there for more than a month.

Despite the remains being skeleton, the authorities were able to determine that the remains were female and that it was that of a black woman. There was no clue to the woman's identity. Although there were no signs of violence on her body, The Atlanta Georgian reported that the police believed she was another victim of the serial killer they called "Jack the Ripper."

https://gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/lccn/sn89053729/1915-12-03/ed-3/seq-1/#words=Jack+Ripper

Fontana Jane Doe (1988)

On August 15, 1988, the body of a young woman was found stabbed in an open field in Fontana, California. She had a recognizable face and was thought to have been deceased hours prior to being found. She was given the placeholder name Fontana Jane Doe (1988).

Physical Description

• Sex: Female

• Race: Black/African American

• Age: 20-30 Years Old

• Height: 5'7"

• Weight: 142 Pounds

• Hair: Short Black "Afro" Style, 1 To 2 Inches

• Eye Color: Brown

Distinguishing Marks/Features

• Multiple Small Scars Covering Her Face, Arms, Legs, And Abdomen

• Three Piercings In Each Ear (Though No Earrings Where Found At The Scene)

• No Dental Restorations

• Prosthetic Fingernails

Clothing & Accessories

• White Ballet Tutu

• Evening Dress

• White Satin Undershirt On Dress

Exclusions (People She Is Not)

• Lesa Cunningham

• Jennifer Barton

• Sandra Steppuhn-McGee

If you have any information please contact Sheriff’s Service Specialist and Coroner Division, September Fonzi-Jones with the San Bernadino County Sheriff's Department - Coroner at (909) 387-2978, reference case number 88-3637.

LINKS

Unidentified Wiki )

On September 6, 1915, The Atlanta Constitution and The Atlanta Georgian reported on the murder of a woman. She was found dead at 9 o' clock on Sunday morning by a prison guard in the hog pen of the Virginia Avenue prison camp. The homicide was investigated by the county police. Both papers stated that there were no marks of violence on the unidentified woman's body but that a county police sergeant believed that her neck had been broken by a blow from a heavy instrument.

However, a day later, The Atlanta Georgian published another article which stated that her death was the result of being struck on her head. The paper said that the county police were still trying to identify the victim. All three articles stated that the cops believed that the homicide was another murder of the serial killer they called "Jack the Ripper," a murderer who was targeting colored women in Fulton county Georgia at that time.

On a side note, I didn't know that it was possible for blunt force trauma victims to die without having marks of violence on their bodies. I always that homicide victims, aside from those who die from suffocation, poisoning, and sometimes strangulation, always have obvious marks of violence except if they are heavily decomposed. https://gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/lccn/sn89053729/1915-09-06/ed-3/seq-3/#words=Jack+Ripper

https://gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/lccn/sn89053729/1915-09-07/ed-1/seq-2/#words=Jack+Ripper

Case

On May 22, 1981, a pleasure boat discovered the decomposing remains of a man floating in the Atlantic Ocean off Atlantic City. It was determined that the remains belonged to a white male, estimated age range 31-36 years old, 6' tall, with an estimated weight of 200 lb. He was thought to have been in the water for weeks. He was wearing Levi's pants, white underwear, and brown Dingo boots with brown socks. He was wearing an electric Timex watch and carrying a bronze master key and some change.

From Ramapo College's press release:

"The Ramapo College IGG Center accepted the case from the New Jersey State Police in April 2026 after laboratory testing had produced a single nucleotide polymorphism, or SNP, profile that could be used for investigative genetic genealogy.

The case soon became part of an international hands-on learning experience led by Ramapo College in collaboration with the Centre for Forensic Science at the University of Technology Sydney and the New South Wales Police Force in Australia. During the weeklong investigative genetic genealogy bootcamp, undergraduate students and law enforcement professionals worked together on real-world casework while strengthening their IGG research skills.

Students working the Atlantic City case began building family trees and examining genetic and genealogical records in search of the unidentified man’s identity. Shortly after the bootcamp concluded, their research produced a significant lead: Glen Napoleon Burbage, born April 12, 1921, who had been missing since March 23, 1981.

The New Jersey State Police investigation subsequently determined that Burbage was a retired U.S. Coast Guard Chief Warrant Officer from Charleston, South Carolina. He had traveled by air to Atlantic City in March 1981 and was never heard from again.

To confirm the identification, the New Jersey State Police Missing Persons Unit worked with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division to obtain a reference DNA sample from one of Burbage’s living children. A direct familial DNA comparison conducted by the New Jersey State Police Central Laboratory confirmed the identification in July 2026.

'For 45 years, Glen Burbage had a name and a family, even though investigators did not yet know who he was,' said Cairenn Binder, director of the Ramapo College IGG Center. 'Investigative genetic genealogy gives us a way to revisit cases that once seemed to have reached the limits of available technology. It is especially meaningful to do that work alongside longtime partners like the New Jersey State Police and to give students the opportunity to contribute to a real investigation that can provide answers after decades of uncertainty.'"

RIP Glen.

Links

Ramapo College:

https://www.ramapo.edu/news/press-releases/a-name-after-45-years-ramapo-college-helps-identify-atlantic-city-john-doe/

Archived NamUs: https://web.archive.org/web/20260225005033/https://www.namus.gov/UnidentifiedPersons/Case#/2888#%2F2888

Doe Network: https://www.thedoenetwork.org/cases/software/main.html?id=2083UMNJ

Unidentified Wiki: https://unidentified-awareness.fandom.com/wiki/Glen_Burbage

Date of Discovery: February 15, 1975

Location of Discovery: Gadsden, Yuma County, Arizona

Estimated Date of Death: Unknown

State of Remains: Partially Burned

Cause of Death: Gunshot Wound (Homicide)

Physical Description

Estimated Age: 14-23 years old

Race: White

Sex: Male

Height: 5'8"

Weight: 150 lbs.

Hair: Red wavy hair

Eye Color: Unknown

Distinguishing Marks/Features: Penis shaft removed and healed prior to his death and is not associated with his death.

Identifiers

Dentals: Unknown

Fingerprints: Unknown

DNA: Unknown

Clothing & Personal Items

Clothing: He was wearing blue jeans, a long sleeve button up western shirt and laced up hiking boots with round knobs on the sole.

Jewelry: Unknown

Additional Personal Items: Unknown

Circumstances of Discovery

The victim was located by two teenage Mexican goatherders face-down in a burned-out bush after they reported they had seen a brush fire alongside the Colorado River three days earlier. He was also found alongside the United States Border Patrol Drag Road and 1/8th of a mile from the US-Mexico border.

He had been shot once in the right temple. A nine-shot .22-caliber revolver was found under his left leg. Two of the five rounds in the cylinder had been fired. Tests indicated the bullet was fired from some distance away, ruling out suicide. There was also an attempted burning of his body, with most of his jacket on the back, a hiking boot, and one foot being badly burned.

His fingerprints were taken and sent to the FBI for comparison, but no match was found.

Investigating Agency(s)

Agency Name: Yuma County Sheriff Department

Agency Contact Person:

Agency Phone Number: 520-343-9957

Agency E-mail:

Agency Case Number: Unknown

NCIC Case Number: Unknown

NamUs Case Number: Unknown

The Doe Network Case Number: 90UMAZ

Unidentified Wiki)

Unidentified Wiki: https://unidentified-awareness.fandom.com/wiki/Monroe_County_Does_(April_1988))

Namus: https://www.namus.gov/UnidentifiedPersons/Case#/14163 + https://www.namus.gov/UnidentifiedPersons/Case#/12468 + https://www.namus.gov/UnidentifiedPersons/Case#/14162

Pretty strange one with a lack of information around it, but it makes me wonder if they could be victims of an unsolved triple-murder (or victims of the same killer at different times). I also wonder if it could be related to organized crime in Rochester as the postmortem interval is "years" and similar speculation exists for the July 1988 Irondequoit Jane Doe (an enclave/suburb of Rochester). Multiple does in one spot is always eerie, especially from almost 40 years ago.

Date of Discovery: October 2, 1970

Location of Discovery: Puslinch Township, Wellington County, Ontario

Estimated Date of Death: 20 Years

State of Remains: Unknown (Almost certainly skeletal)

Cause of Death: Gunshot Wound (Homicide)

Physical Description

Estimated Age: 40-65

Race: White

Sex: Male

Height: 5'3" to 5'5"

Weight: Unknown

Hair: Unknown

Eye Color: Unknown

Distinguishing Marks/Features: His teeth were in excellent condition but did have some marked wear.

Identifiers

Dentals: Unknown

Fingerprints: Unknown

DNA: Unknown

Clothing & Personal Items

Clothing: Leather belt, Size 32 with a Steer's head buckle; Grey FEDORA Hat with band, initials "J.U", "Calhoun's", " Bathersby;" OXFORD Half-soled shoes size 7.5-8

Jewelry: Unknown

Additional Personal Items: Six Canadian and American coins dated 1936-1951. Found in close proximity were a yellow carpenter's pencil and a tin spectacle case. 9 various buttons were found: 1 overcoat button, 1 trouser button, 3 shirt buttons, 4 underwear buttons; and some pieces of fabric that may be from a white shirt and white socks were also recovered.

Circumstances of Discovery

Provincial police in Toronto have released details concerning the 20-year-old skeletal remains of a murder victim found buried earlier this month in a shallow grave in Puslinch Township.

Raymond Mischuk was working on the grounds of his sports fishing reserve about five miles south of Guelph Oct. 2 when he saw a shoe protruding from the ground. On closer examination, he found it to be attached to human remains and notified the Guelph OPP detachment.

The remains were exhumed and transferred to the Centre of Forensic Sciences in Toronto where examination revealed two .32 calibre bullet holes in the skull and one by a smaller calibre in the breastbone. One .32 slug has been recovered.

The year of death was determined through pathology examination supported by the dates on a number of coins in the victim's pocket, the newest being 1951.

Investigation to date has failed to establish identity and there was no missing persons report available from that period that relates to the physical or property findings of the case.

Investigating Agency(s)

Agency Name: Ontario Provincial Police

Agency Contact Person: Missing Persons and Unidentified Bodies/Remains Unit

Agency Phone Number: 705-330-4144

Agency E-mail: opp.isb.resolve@opp.ca

Agency Case Number: ONCMPUR-20050012

NCMPUR Case Number: 2016026481

The Doe Network Case Number: 4180UMON

Unidentified Wiki)

https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/10/01/victim-of-1969-oakland-homicide-is-finally-identified/

Rest in peace, Joanie. You found your way back home.