Identified! OH - Trumbull Co., BlkMale UP4727, 47-65, Mosquito Lake, Jul'06 - Gregory Griffin

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The sculpture is of an African-American man in his 50s.

The skeletal remains of the man were found July 23, 2006, in an area of Mosquito Creek Lake State Park.

http://www.tribtoday.com/page/conte...Bazetta-skeleton-clues-released.html?nav=5192

2319320980045078242S600x600Q851.jpg
 
Thanks for putting this up, Carl, I was just reading about him last night. As you say, I think it's unlikely that the UID is Jimmie Banks.

I am familiar with the area and feel that the UID is probably from one of the cities of Warren or Youngstown, respectively about 15-20 minutes' and 30 minutes' drive south of Mosquito Lake. There aren't many black folks outside the metro area of either of the two towns. If he was dumped, as seems probable to me, I think Warren is the likelier of the two because there are closer places to leave a body near Youngstown.

Unfortunately, it's a possibility that he was murdered or died of an overdose. Both cities have serious, endemic problems with drug-related violence. Best odds for him are if he is recognized by a local.

Looking at other possibilities, the one other person I find from Ohio or Pennsylvania who I think could realistically be the UID (based solely on stats, not on physical appearance, however) is Travis Bingham:

The Charley Project: Travis Bingham
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/b/bingham_travis.html
NamUs MP #2741: Travis Bingham
https://www.findthemissing.org/cases/2741/
 
T Bingham's face has much less distance between the bottom of the eyes and the bottom of the nose. The vertical placement of the facial features don't align at all.

Yeah, I don't think it's him either. He was just the least unlikely out of a handful of unlikelies.

If the UID isn't a local, whoever dumped him probably was. You'd have to know your way around the area to do it in the dark. Mosquito Lake is 30 minutes from a major interstate, and the closest state highways go through nowhere and to nowhere but Ashtabula or Youngstown-Warren.
 
it doesn't help that they gave no estimation of how long the body had been there.

I did a basic search at NAMUS with gender, race, the given height range and a lka date of 12/31/05 and there were 37 matches. none were from OH nor were any from Western PA or WV for that matter.
 
why don't you submit this one Carl? pretty good match.

I just contacted the Bazetta Township LE authorities, and spoke with a woman named Deanna who is working on this case.

She gave me an e-mail address (records@bazettatwp.org), and I sent her an e-mail with a link to Jimmie Banks' NAMPN file and one to the YouTube video.

Cross your fingers!!!
 
I just contacted the Bazetta Township LE authorities, and spoke with a woman named Deanna who is working on this case.

She gave me an e-mail address (records@bazettatwp.org), and I sent her an e-mail with a link to Jimmie Banks' NAMPN file and one to the YouTube video.

Cross your fingers!!!

Deanna called me back because she was having trouble receiving my e-mail. She gave me a couple of e-mail addresses before my e-mail was able to get through.

She watched the video while she had me on the phone, and she was very impressed. She said that it gave her chills seeing the transition. She said that she is going to show this to her boss, and he will probably call me back.
 
Way to go Carl! Can't wait to hear what they have to say!
 
That is an amazing reconstruction from the FBI! I don't know if it actually looks like the MP whoever that may be but the forensic artist has captured a mood of sorts and pointed out characteristics without exaggerating them to a cartoonish look.

I found a missing person who fits the physical well and the timeline. He went missing a day's drive from that location - Appx 6 months prior to the death of the UP.

It appears both ears are pierced. He has the same prominent brow ridge and head structure.

The Detective for the UP will contact me as soon as there is news of this UP's identity.

I submitted it to all involved agencies this am.
http://www.theyaremissed.org/ncma/gallery/ncmaprofile_all.php?A200502508S
http://www.tribtoday.com/page/conte...Bazetta-skeleton-clues-released.html?nav=5192
 
That is an amazing reconstruction from the FBI! I don't know if it actually looks like the MP whoever that may be but the forensic artist has captured a mood of sorts and pointed out characteristics without exaggerating them to a cartoonish look.

I found a missing person who fits the physical well and the timeline. He went missing a day's drive from that location - Appx 6 months prior to the death of the UP.

It appears both ears are pierced. He has the same prominent brow ridge and head structure.

The Detective for the UP will contact me as soon as there is news of this UP's identity.

I submitted it to all involved agencies this am.
http://www.theyaremissed.org/ncma/gallery/ncmaprofile_all.php?A200502508S
http://www.tribtoday.com/page/conte...Bazetta-skeleton-clues-released.html?nav=5192

That looks like a pretty good possible. His forehead doesn't look as tall, and his nose not as long, but this might be due to the backward tilt of his head in the photo.

The photo of the reconstruction is taken from approximately the level of the top of his head. Carl Butler's photo is taken from about nose level. This would distort the comparability of the images in the manner that I did for Jimmie Banks.

BTW, the detective left a message yesterday for me to call him back, and I returned his call just now. He said that he would call me right back because he is on the phone with North Carolina. So he is getting right on your tip.
 
I got a call back from the detective in charge of the case. He says that he has contacted authorities in both Florida and in North Carolina. There will be a delay in getting info from Florida due to the fact that an Orlando Police officer was killed in the line of duty, and the local LE will be occupied with events related to the funeral.

I spoke with him for about 15 minutes, and he had some interesting info. First of all, he said that a psychic had been working with them regarding this case, and although he is skeptical of the abilities of psychics (as am I), the psychic had told him that the victim's name started with a "J" and was possibly "Jimmie". So when I called in my tip and sent them the YouTube video of a guy named "Jimmie" and the alignment came out so close, he almost fell out of his seat.

He discussed a few other things about the case, some of which might be already available info:

He said that the remains were almost entirely skeletonized with the exception of a small amount of flesh around one ear.

He said that they were puzzled at the fact that the victim was entirely naked, and the anthropologist had estimated that the body had been dead about 6-8 months. Clothing would not have deteriorated in that little time, so they are puzzled at why he would have been dumped naked. Middle-aged black men aren't the typical victims of sex crimes.

He also noted that the body was found in the vicinity of a Mosquito Lake State Park a couple of miles off of the main highway. It is a very heavily trafficked area, and he found it hard to believe that the remains had been there for 6-8 months. Someone surely would have noticed the remains sooner than they did if the remains were there for the entire time. He said that it was almost as if someone wanted the remains to be found.
 
He discussed a few other things about the case, some of which might be already available info:

He said that the remains were almost entirely skeletonized with the exception of a small amount of flesh around one ear.

He said that they were puzzled at the fact that the victim was entirely naked, and the anthropologist had estimated that the body had been dead about 6-8 months. Clothing would not have deteriorated in that little time, so they are puzzled at why he would have been dumped naked. Middle-aged black men aren't the typical victims of sex crimes.

He also noted that the body was found in the vicinity of a Mosquito Lake State Park a couple of miles off of the main highway. It is a very heavily trafficked area, and he found it hard to believe that the remains had been there for 6-8 months. Someone surely would have noticed the remains sooner than they did if the remains were there for the entire time. He said that it was almost as if someone wanted the remains to be found.

strange. if the investigator doubts the body was there the whole 6-8 months then I'd have to ask, who would transport a skeleton and how would it not come apart in the process of being moved?

as for the body being without clothing, that does not mean the deceased was naked when killed. if he were still alive, being forced to strip does not necessarily make it any sex crime. if he was stripped after death, that could have been to reduce the chances of any forensic evidence such as blood, fibers or even pet hair from being found on the clothes.

still seems like an awful lot of work to place a naked body/skeleton in a heavily trafficked area if he were not killed there.
 
strange. if the investigator doubts the body was there the whole 6-8 months then I'd have to ask, who would transport a skeleton and how would it not come apart in the process of being moved?

as for the body being without clothing, that does not mean the deceased was naked when killed. if he were still alive, being forced to strip does not necessarily make it any sex crime. if he was stripped after death, that could have been to reduce the chances of any forensic evidence such as blood, fibers or even pet hair from being found on the clothes.

still seems like an awful lot of work to place a naked body/skeleton in a heavily trafficked area if he were not killed there.

He did discuss those other possibilities other than it being a sex crime, I should have included those as well. He didn't come to a single conclusion, he was just saying that they couldn't settle on a single theory.

And it's not so much that he "doubts" that they were there for that long. It's just that he couldn't make sense of how if they were there for that long, that nobody noticed them there sooner.
 

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