Identified! WI - Milwaukee, BlkMale UP7641, 18-45, Amtrak ticket, Jun'75 - David Conner

WARNING: If you go to the NamUs site and look up this case number you will see a post mortem graphic.

NamUs UP Case Number: 7641
ME/C Case Number: 1975-1209
Milwaukee County, Wisconsin
18 to 45 Year Old Black/African American Male

This unidentified male was found in the Milwaukee River in June of 1975. He may have been in the water for up to two weeks. He had no Identification, but did have an Amtrack Ticket in his pocket with the handwritten name of "D. Connor". The ticket was for Jacksonville, FL to Chicago with departure date of 6-6-1975. The ticket was marked $56.00.

https://identifyus.org/cases/7641

Physical
Hair color Black
Head hair Black, short, and kinky hair
Body hair Not noted
Facial hair Thin moustache with small short goatee
Left eye color Brown
Right eye color Brown
Eye description Cornea's were clouded due to decomposition

Possible match for you to ponder over with me.

NamUs MP # 10901 Leonard Johnson Jr.
Age LKA 25 to 26 years old
Age now 61 years old
Race Black/African American
Ethnicity
Sex Male
Height 68.0 inches
Weight 130.0 to 150.0 pounds

Leonard walked away from his home in Manhattan after being discharged from the Army. He is originally from Michigan. He was a member of the US Coast Guard at the time, he has since missed the funerals for both his parents and does not have any activity on his social security number.

According to the report his family tried to report him missing since 1975, but no one would take the report, it wasn't entered into NamUs until May 2011.

My thoughts here... Leonard went missing in March the UID wasn't found until June giving plenty of time to go to Florida and then take the Amtrack train to Chicago. Leonard's home was in Michigan and the UID body was found floating in a river near Milwaukee- I don't know a ton about the great lakes and how they feed into rivers up there but it seems possible that a man murdered in Chicago area or any coastal part of Michigan could end up there. Without more information about the circumstances of Leonards dissappearance it's hard to speculate further, but it seems plausible to me. Anyone else have a theory or elaboration? What do you think?
Edit: I know the ticket says D. Conner, but those are the things that make it hard to speculate. Was he trying to get away from his army discharge? Did he buy an uneeded ticket off someone? I'm sure they didnt check I.D.s for a train ticket back then like they would now. Maybe he had a companion and they mixed up tickets or one fell out of the pocket in the river? Any number of things could make D. Conner irrelevant. Or this man could very well be D. Conner and no one reported him missing...

https://www.findthemissing.org/cases/10901/0

Wish we had a pic of Leonard to compare.

$56 was a lot of money for a train ticket back then! He could be from anywhere in North America, couldn't he?

Kimster said:

Wish we had a pic of Leonard to compare.

$56 was a lot of money for a train ticket back then! He could be from anywhere in North America, couldn't he?

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Yeah, if he had a connection in Jacksonville, FL and then on to Chicago, IL. I know nowadays your ticket would include all your stops, but if he purchased separate tickets or if they printed them speparately that would be true. Wonder if there is anyway to find amtracks old routes to see what the most likely places would be?

pepagirl said:

Yeah, if he had a connection in Jacksonville, FL and then on to Chicago, IL. I know nowadays your ticket would include all your stops, but if he purchased separate tickets or if they printed them speparately that would be true. Wonder if there is anyway to find amtracks old routes to see what the most likely places would be?

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I haven't tried it yet, but wondered if there's a way to find out how much travel that would have bought a person in 1975.

Historic Old World Third Street parallels the Milwaukee River where it intersects with Juneau Ave, where the bridge is. There are a lot of bars in that area, especially on Water Street on the other side of the river. It's possible to walk there in a half hour, easily, from where the Amtrak station is.

Our UID may have had a reason to stop over in Chicago before continuing to Milwaukee, but I'm guessing that he took the train to town, or possibly Greyhound, which would have been walking distance, too, and then went to get a drink. In the warmer months, the bars open up their patios. Maybe they'd already begun at the time, maybe not. I'm going to guess that our UID might have gotten mugged, or might have gotten drunk and fell into the river, walking on one of the piers which would have been going back in that time of year.

Anyway, the chances of someone floating there from Chicago are essentially nil, in my estimation. He probably had family or friends in Milwaukee and hadn't contacted them yet. Not much reason otherwise to go to Milwaukee that time of year. Might have been someone who worked in a trade like construction, headed to Florida during the colder months and back to Wisconsin in the warmer ones. Might have been indiscreet about carrying money with him in front of strangers.

Sure would be nice to know what the key in his possession might have been for. I mean, if he'd just arrived in town he might have stowed his gear in a locker, or he might already have taken a room at the old YMCA (since converted to Marquette U. dormitory) or someplace else, and left his stuff there. Still having his train ticket in his pocket argues that he didn't change his clothes before whatever happened happened.

If he was arriving in town unannounced, his family may have figured he decided to stay in Florida. There are Conners in Milwaukee, though Ancestry.com shows a higher concentration in Illinois.

I've wondered about Leonard Johnson being a match for "D. Conner" as well. I'm going to take a look at Classmates.com to see if I can find Leonard to compare with the unidentified.

The sad thing about Milwaukee (where I'm originally from) is whenever anyone local disappears from downtown it is pretty much assumed that they'll turn up in the Milwaukee river. Most of the time these cases involve heavy drinking and for whatever reason....falling into the river. I've never been able to reconcile the logic of why this seems to happen frequently.

What is interesting here is we have a guy who more than likely was from out-of-town and by the looks of the tickets...not in Milwaukee very long. I wonder if they ever did a toxicology analysis on this guy. I haven't been able to find any info to suggest he was drunk and took a tumble like so many before and after him have done.

Interesting, I found a Leonard Johnson Jr. who graduated from a MI high school in 1963. But that would make him 30-32 yrs of age in 1975. I'm still looking....

Yeah, absent toxicology it's just a hunch, but it's a hunch based on there being so many bars right there. Why do so many Wisconsinites like to binge drink so much? I don't know, but they do.

vermontaigne said:

Yeah, absent toxicology it's just a hunch, but it's a hunch based on there being so many bars right there. Why do so many Wisconsinites like to binge drink so much? I don't know, but they do.

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Yes and yes. There are a ton of clubs/bars in downtown Milwaukee. Honestly there are ton of clubs/bars in most Wisconsin towns, but that number goes up exponentially when the town is home to a major university.

Can't answer the question as to why Wisconsinites like to binge drink so much, but I can tell you at one time I fit that cliche'. Cold weather, nothing else to do/accessibility....who knows....

FWIW, I sent off an email to the case manager for Leonard Johnson inquiring about his Michigan roots and if there is a photo available. The gentlemen I found on Classmates looks pretty close to "D.Conner" but the age of this Leonard Johnson is a huge issue...unless Namus has it wrong...which is the reason for the inquiry. I'll keep you posted....

As far as Pepagirl's possible ID on Leonard Johnson, he was newly a member of the Coast Guard, and there are Coast Guard stations in Chicago, Wilmette (IL), Kenosha (WI), Milwaukee, and also Jacksonville. It would be nice to know where he was supposed to have been stationed. Our UID could have been transferred nearby, but you'd think that the Coast Guard folks might be reading the paper and wondering where their new recruit went, and putting two and two together. Oddly, a person by the surname Conner did go missing in Chicago later that year, but they don't appear to be closely related.

I received a reply from the Namus contacts: They are in the process of comparing the DNA from the unidentified to Leonard Johnson Jr. And it looks as if the age is correct so the Leonard I found isn't the missing person.

"I’m still trying to get additional clarification but I’m about 99% sure the age we have is correct which means this would not be the Leonard from Ferndale. We are looking to compare the DNA from the Doe however the Doe’s samples are being difficult. Hopefully the new sample that is coming will result in a much better profile so we can see if this is a match.

Someone should change the thread name to "WI WI - Milwaukee - BlkMale (UP 7641)" or something.

Someone looking for a black missing person would likely overlook this thread.

Unidentified Black Male
The victim was discovered on June 13, 1975 in Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin.
Estimated Date of Death: 2 weeks prior.


Vital Statistics

Estimated Age: 18-45 years old.
Approximate Height and Weight: 5'7" to 5'9" and 140-150 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: Kinky, short black hair and brown eyes. Thin mustache with a small, short goatee.

Clothing: Red jacket (size large), red sports shirt (size 16-16.5), gray pants (Penny's label), brown belt (Farah brand), black socks, Jockey underwear (size 32), and brown shoes (Oxford's size 10).
Jewelry: Silver colored "Becona" watch.

Dentals: ME is attempting to locate dental charting. Had 28 natural teeth with no apparent restorations.
DNA: nucDNA samples submitted to UNT - Tests not complete.
Fingerprints: Available.

Other: Also located with the body were a silver colored pocket knife, one small key on a chain, a white comb, and an Amtrack receipt dated 6-6-1975 #2941705 from Jacksonville, FL to Chicago. Departing at 0130 on 6-6-1975.

Case History

The victim was found in the Milwaukee River on June 13, 1975. He may have been in the water for up to two weeks.

He had no identification, but did have an Amtrack Ticket in his pocket with the handwritten name of "D. Connor".

The ticket was for Jacksonville, FL to Chicago with departure date of 6-6-1975. The ticket was marked $56.00.

Investigators

If you have any information about this case please contact:

Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office
Genevieve Penn
414-223-1200
Email : jenni.penn@milwcnty.com

You may remain anonymous when submitting information. Agency Case Number: 1975-1209

Source Information:
NamUs
The Doe Network: Case File 1506UMWI

LINK:

http://doenetwork.org/cases/1506umwi.html

Leonard Edward Johnson Jr was ruled out.

https://identifyus.org/en/cases/7641

Interesting!

I was just looking at Leonard Johnson Jr as this JD from Jacksonville Fl (area) https://identifyus.org/cases/793

So I come upon this thread with the train ticket from Jacksonville.

Duval County, Florida
18 to 25 year old Black/African American Male
Date found November 09, 1975
Probable year of death 1975 to 1975
Estimated postmortem interval Weeks

I guess the PM interval kind of kicks it out of being related. I'd assume they'd say months if it was June to Nov.

Identified as David Conner...RIP

http://www.jsonline.com/story/news/...pt-leads-dead-mans-identity-family/546694001/

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk

Sleep peacefully, David. So glad he got his name back. Prayers said for his family and those who love and miss him.

I am so glad to see David has his name back and that the family finally has answers. This case was one that was frustrating since it had a surname, first initial, and location of origin as specific clues. It is sad to hear about misplacement of David's body, though.

So depressing that his body was lost. Sadly seems to be a strangely common thing as I've seen it in other cases as well.

RIP David Conner