CA CA - Angeles Nat'l Forest, WhtMale UP4319, 15-25, fell from cliff, Dec'81

CarlK90245

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NamUs UP # 4319 https://identifyus.org/cases/4319

Unidentified White Male

Found December 08, 1981 in the Switzer Camp area of Angeles National Forest, Los Angeles County California.

Estimated Age 15 - 25 years
Height (inches) 70, Measured
Hair Color: Blond/Strawberry
Body condition Not recognizable - Decomposing/putrefaction
Probable year of death: 1981

Circumstances of Death: Found over cliff. apparently fell from cliff while hiking above the Switzer Camp area of the Angeles National Forest.

Identifiers:
Fingerprints: not available
Dentals: Available (Chart only)
DNA: Sample is currently not available
 
I noticed the above UID casefile in NamUs today.

The limited info fits almost perfectly to Sean Kenneth Phelan

phelan_sean.jpg

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/p/phelan_sean.html

* His height (5'10") is spot-on.
* His age (21) is right at midrange of the age estimate.
* His hair color is light brown - close enough to the "Strawberry Blonde" description of the UID.
* The timeline from DLC to Discovery (51 days) sounds right.
* The distance between Tustin and Switzer camp is about 60 miles.
 
Looks good Carl. No dna though on the UID. I wonder if dentals are available on Sean as there are no finger prints or dna for the UID. It's definately worth considering.
 
Sean's Charley Project page notes he liked to hitchhike. That probably means he liked to hike as well, which further points to him as this UID.

If he has dentals then matching up that top row would be a good indicator.

Have you contacted the Orange County Sheriff's department on this Carl? Perhaps they have dental records on Sean.
 
I noticed the above UID casefile in NamUs today.

The limited info fits almost perfectly to Sean Kenneth Phelan

phelan_sean.jpg

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/p/phelan_sean.html

* His height (5'10") is spot-on.
* His age (21) is right at midrange of the age estimate.
* His hair color is light brown - close enough to the "Strawberry Blonde" description of the UID.
* The timeline from DLC to Discovery (51 days) sounds right.
* The distance between Tustin and Switzer camp is about 60 miles.

Looks good, Carl. From the photo, I think someone could look at Sean's hair and see it as strawberry blond. Please keep us posted and let us know what they say.
 
I got ahold of Daniel Machian and gave him the information on Sean Phelan.

While I had him on the phone, I asked why all of the postmortem photos were removed from the county website. He says that another coroner's office complained about it and there is now a state law prohibiting the publication of postmortem photos, even in NamUs.

ETA: The new law is stated in California Code of Civil Procedure Section 129
 
I would like to get involved with this case. Sean is my wife's step brother and Sean's Dad Joe has carried Sean's missing status for over 30the years.

Sean is former Navy therefore there are dental records available. I believe the Island County Sheriff (WA) has those records.

How can I get involved and hopefully bring some closure for Sean's family?
 
I would like to get involved with this case. Sean is my wife's step brother and Sean's Dad Joe has carried Sean's missing status for over 30the years.

Sean is former Navy therefore there are dental records available. I believe the Island County Sheriff (WA) has those records.

How can I get involved and hopefully bring some closure for Sean's family?

Hi Alan, and welcome to Websleuths.

You should contact Daniel Machian of the Los Angeles County Coroner's office. He is in charge of cold case unidentifieds.

His e-mail is DMachian@coroner.lacounty.gov
His telephone number is (323) 343-0754

Be sure to provide him with the NamUs UP # (NamUs UP # 4319)

The NamUs casefile indicates that they have only a dental chart for the John Doe (no x-rays), but if you have dental records available, that should be good enough to get a sense of whether we are on the right track.

Unfortunately, they have no DNA on the remains, and of course, no fingerprints, so a dental comparison is your only option.


Also, please let us know if you find anything out.
 
15yo seems a young lower-end estimate if this UID was hiking alone, but perhaps not back then? Wish there was more available on his clothing and equipment as that might give an idea of whether he was on a day/short hike or a longer term trip (in which case family may have expected him to be gone for a while).

I’m assuming the young man mentioned above, Sean Phelan, was r/o.
 
Dale could have driven a route from Carmichael, CA that would have taken him right near the Angeles National Forest on his way to see his gf in LA. His hair is brown rather than blonde/strawberry, though. Did park rangers keep records of towed abandoned cars back in 1981? He was driving an orange Toyota Celica.
Original
Original

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
 
Dale could have driven a route from Carmichael, CA that would have taken him right near the Angeles National Forest on his way to see his gf in LA. His hair is brown rather than blonde/strawberry, though. Did park rangers keep records of towed abandoned cars back in 1981? He was driving an orange Toyota Celica.
Original
Original

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
I think the hair color rules him out for me. Dale’s looks pretty dark. But I don’t how sun or elements could lighten hair’s appearance over time? I wish there was some sort of recon for the UID at least.

It’s funny you mention abandoned vehicles. The other day I was looking through newspapers and found a small blurb about an abandoned vehicle found about 5 miles out of town in a rural field? or rural road, I can’t remember, but it had been towed to a local junkyard. It was in Oklahoma and I looked on the map and it was just a weird place for an abandoned car to be found. It got me to wondering 1. What ever happened to it, 2. Why was it there, and 3. How many MP’s vehicles might have articles similar to this in newspapers. Would a junkyard necessarily run VINs and all that to see if it had an owner?

Anyway, that’s a little off topic but I spent a few hours down that rabbit hole of looking for abandoned vehicle newspaper articles. Those are hard to follow-up with BTW. :D
 
@Caring1 Hey could you post the current list of NamUs exclusions for this John Doe? I would greatly appreciate it.
 
@Caring1 Hey could you post the current list of NamUs exclusions for this John Doe? I would greatly appreciate it.
Nicholas Zizzamia of California is the only rule out

Edit: idk why hes listed as being from CA, hes from NJ
 

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