Identified! VA - Lorton, Male remains, 30s-40s, Jul'10 - Manuel Mireles-Garcia

hollye

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Remains found in Lorton a month ago now ruled a homicide
Remains not yet identified, but man described as being in 30s or 40s


http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/cms/story.php?id=2024

Today police said in a release they have determined the man died of trauma to the upper body over one year ago.

Forensic anthropologists working with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner concluded the man was a European male in his mid 30s or early 40s, about 5 feet 3 inches tall and may have had East-Asian or Hispanic ancestry. He was wearing a green American Eagle brand zip-up jacket, Cherokee brand pajama pants, a grayish blue-colored T-shirt with the picture of a classic hot-rod and the words "76 Nationals, South Calif: Coastal Speedway" on it. He was also wearing white Reebok sneakers.

A chain necklace around his neck, with a stone, a heart pendant and an "evil eye" talisman may also become an important clue in determining the man's identity.

SkeletonX_081910_rgb.jpg
 
Could he have been Turkish? The 'Evil Eye' is IME an Arabic talisman, we got ours in Turkey, the markets there are full of them
 
What I haven't seen indicated is whether or not he appeared to have been placed there or whether or not this was a possible hit and run. He was found on the side of the road near the landfill, but it is also very close to a bar and a there are a couple of very small business parks right near there. Not sure why he would have been walking that way from the bar, since there are very very few houses in that direction. However, I suppose that it is possible.

The bar is Skinifatz http://www.skinifatz.com/ and is up on a hill at the corner of Furnace Road and Route 1. There is also a dinner theater up on the same hill.
 
I was looking at this thread and what I found curious was their reference to the deceased being a man of European descent, with the other possible mixes.

when I think of European I think of someone who was actually from Europe as opposed to white people in general who trace their ancestry to Europe. I'd be curious to know what they meant by "European".

as for the mixture of race/ancestry there are tons of east Asians in the UK and the next largest group (I think) are in the Netherlands from their former colonies in the east and in Suriname.

Hispanics as we know them are uncommon in Europe outside of Spain where some have moved for better job prospects and common language.

Another mix of European and other blood is in Brazil.
 
We have a lot of Hispanics in the area, but I am not sure how common it would be for them to wear that particular type of talisman.

I haven't heard or found anything further on hs identity. I did find an article that states that he is listed in NAMUS, but have not been able to locate him there. I emailed the write for the story and she did not know his status either, said she would get back to me, but I haven't heard from her.

Does anyone know how I can find out if he has been identified yet?
 
I cannot find him listed in NamUs either. Hollye, you sound familiar with the area. The Skinifatz website shows people casually dressed at the bar, but would multicolor pajama pants with ski logos have been too casual? Is there a dress code? I looked through their "2009 Photos" and when each one is clicked, it takes you to a Picasa site that gives dates for the photos that suggest some were taken as far back as 2005, unless the setting on the digital camera was wrong. I can't see anyone wearing a hoodie, jammie pants or even a pendant like John Doe's in the many photos, though.
 
We have a lot of Hispanics in the area, but I am not sure how common it would be for them to wear that particular type of talisman.

I haven't heard or found anything further on hs identity. I did find an article that states that he is listed in NAMUS, but have not been able to locate him there. I emailed the write for the story and she did not know his status either, said she would get back to me, but I haven't heard from her.

Does anyone know how I can find out if he has been identified yet?

I see your point on the Hispanic thing. I realize I could have been clearer.

I was focusing on the fact they said he was a European male with possible East Asian or Hispanic ancestry. I don't know what they are trying to say.

It is very unusual to refer to a white person here in the US as European, unless they actually came from Europe. So my point was that if the man was in fact from Europe, he did not likely have any Hispanic ancestry and the mostly likely mix would be East Asian.
 
I cannot find him listed in NamUs either. Hollye, you sound familiar with the area. The Skinifatz website shows people casually dressed at the bar, but would multicolor pajama pants with ski logos have been too casual? Is there a dress code? I looked through their "2009 Photos" and when each one is clicked, it takes you to a Picasa site that gives dates for the photos that suggest some were taken as far back as 2005, unless the setting on the digital camera was wrong. I can't see anyone wearing a hoodie, jammie pants or even a pendant like John Doe's in the many photos, though.

To be honest, I am not a bar going type, but no, the attire does not sound like it would fit with the bar. I was just trying to think of places super close to where the remains were found and there isn't much.

However, the location of the remains is close Route 1 and if you head south on Route 1, you almost immediately come to a bridge that crosses the Occoquan River, going from Fairfax County into Prince William County, and on the other side of the river in Prince William County are some run down hotels and some run down strip malls, along with fast food places, all within walking distance of where the remains were found. It tends to be a higher crime area, than Fairfax County and definitely more populated than where the remains were found.

There is a strong possibility that something happened across the county line and he was dumped in the area because it is more remote.
 
I see your point on the Hispanic thing. I realize I could have been clearer.

I was focusing on the fact they said he was a European male with possible East Asian or Hispanic ancestry. I don't know what they are trying to say.

It is very unusual to refer to a white person here in the US as European, unless they actually came from Europe. So my point was that if the man was in fact from Europe, he did not likely have any Hispanic ancestry and the mostly likely mix would be East Asian.

Yeah, I'm not real clear on what they mean by European/East Asian/Hispanic. I wish they released a sketch and had more information available.

I think about this case almost daily and wonder if he has been identified. How can I find out?
 
I have received an email back from the Fairfax County Police this morning. According to Homicide, the remains are still unidentified and continue to be tested.

So I guess I will do a little bit of investigating to see if I can come up with any possible matches.
 
I will say that the area of Prince William County, just south of where the remains were discovered, has a large population of illegal immigrants, which could account for this man not having been reported missing.

I am not seeing anything jump out in NamUS in the local area.
 
I have received an email back from the Fairfax County Police this morning. According to Homicide, the remains are still unidentified and continue to be tested.

So I guess I will do a little bit of investigating to see if I can come up with any possible matches.

since you've had some contact with LE, would you mind asking them what they meant by European? was there something about him that caused them to think he was from Europe or are they saying he was white, with some possible mixture of other ancestry?
 
since you've had some contact with LE, would you mind asking them what they meant by European? was there something about him that caused them to think he was from Europe or are they saying he was white, with some possible mixture of other ancestry?

Sure, I'll see if they can specify. The guy that I was in contact with though is just the public information person. Do you have any other ideas on questions that I can ask without being pushy? I don't want to keep bugging him, especially since he is not directly related to the case and has to forward my questions to someone else.
 
Sure, I'll see if they can specify. The guy that I was in contact with though is just the public information person. Do you have any other ideas on questions that I can ask without being pushy? I don't want to keep bugging him, especially since he is not directly related to the case and has to forward my questions to someone else.

my questions would be:

1. what did they mean by European, i.e. white or something that connected the UID to Europe.

2. do they have any composite or reconstruction of his face?

3. was there any hair left in the area that they could connect with the skeleton?

4. what was the basis for the possible Hispanic or Asian ancestry? just the jewelry?

I looked at the original news piece again and I'd have to say that 5'3" is extremely short for most Europeans or even white Americans for that matter. Hispanics and Asians have mostly black hair so I am wondering if they found any hair.
 
The "Evil Eye" pendant is definitely worn a lot in Turkey, on pendants, keyrings, rings etc; it is believed to ward off evil and protect. Saying that, I myself have bought keyrings with the evil eye on when vacationing in Turkey so that is not to say that he is Turkish just based on him wearing an evil eye pendant. I think it is also worn in Greece and have seen it in parts of Spain too.

I too would be interested to know what they based the "european" thing on. I myself would be classed as "european" - I live in N. Ireland which is part of the U.K although a seperate island.

JMO
 
Man finds remains near railroad bridge in Lorton

http://www2.insidenova.com/news/2011/mar/15/man-finds-remains-railroad-bridge-lorton-ar-907641/

Tuesday's find was close to the area on Furnace Road where a photographer found a skull, among other remains, on July 12, 2010.

Fairfax County police said they were reminded of the July 12 case when they began the current investigation, but they are unsure if the two cases were connected.

In the July case, the remains were determined to be those of a man, but police still have not identified him.
 
Anyone else think those clothes are kind of young looking for a man in his 30s or 40s?
 
Not necessarily young. Other cultures have different ideas of what's age appropriate and Ive seen Middle Eastern men dress fairly colorfully at times, when they're being casual or "sporty."

The evil eye charm is seen throughout the Middle East, not just Turkey. You see it in just about every country, including Israel. It's a charm against the evil eye and is used all around the Mediterranean. You'd also see it used in Gypsy culture.

The 2nd body that they found isn't really all that close to the first one. It's 2 miles away, but more importantly it's on the other side not just of I-95 but also Route 1. The first body was found in an area that's by the old Lorton prison grounds, most of which has been converted into parkland, and would be deserted at night. The 2nd body was found in an area that goes into neighborhoods closer to the Potomac River.

It wouldn't surprise me if the 1st body was a hit and run - his body was found not too far from where Furnace Road branches off of Lorton Road. I see people bicycle along Lorton Road all the time, and it's narrow and winding. There are narrow, deep ditches along either side. It wouldn't be hard to get winged by someone on either road, and stagger a bit only to die. Then again, yeah it could be a dump job but why wouldn't they go a little deeper into the woods?
 

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