MN MN - Hermantown, WhtMale 30-50, UP10270, osteoarthritis, walked with limp, dentures, Apr'76

ctaylor

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I could not find a thread on this John Doe, and nothing at all on NAMUS or Doe Network. If anyone can track anything on those sites, please post the links. I thought I would create a thread in case anyone can find a link....

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/231138/

The Hermantown Police Department hopes that advances in DNA analysis and new information will finally give a name to a man whose skeletal remains were found more than 36 years ago.

“I hope they are able to find his relatives,” Paula Stocke said. “To think that there is a person who is missing, maybe not connected to anybody, is sad.”

Stocke and her sister discovered the man’s skeletal remains in the woods behind their family’s new home on what is now the 3900 block of Lavaque Road on April 16, 1976. Stocke was 5, her sister 8 or 9.

“Just shortly off the lawn area we found the skull,” Stocke said. “We grew up around the woods, so we knew bones of animals. We knew this was a human skull.”

....

Some further reading -

http://fox21online.com/content/new-details-1976-skeletal-remains

Some further details on the stats/measurements of this man...

http://www.northlandsnewscenter.com...n-John-Doe-Case-Gets-New-Life--150854885.html

The John Doe is a white male that had advanced osteoarthritis and walked with a limp. He had Dentures and was between five foot three and five foot eleven.

Objects at the scene also give some insight into his identity.

"Also located was a cigarette lighter, with letters on the base of ATC and lux Japan, as well as several coins, silver in nature with the most recent mint date of 1961."

Still, authorities say, despite all this information, the likelihood of identifying this man remain low.
 
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38237&page=2 George Hawkins, has the limp, dentures, right time frame.

George Hawkins
Missing since April 3, 1961 from Newport, Campbell County, Kentucky.
Classification: Endangered Missing
Vital Statistics
Age at Time of Disappearance: 46 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'8"; 190 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: White male. He wore dark-rimmed glasses.
Marks, Scars: Had a childhood injury/illness that left him with one leg an inch shorter than the other. He wore one built-up shoe to compensate for the difference in the length of his leg bones.
Clothing: Dark blue trousers, with red-and-black flannel shirt under a dark blue jacket with yellow lining and a blue-gray hat.
Jewelry: Yellow-gold masonic ring with emblem, and yellow-gold watch with leather band.
Dentals: Full upper and lower dentures
 
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38237&page=2 George Hawkins, has the limp, dentures, right time frame.

George Hawkins
Missing since April 3, 1961 from Newport, Campbell County, Kentucky.
Classification: Endangered Missing
Vital Statistics
Age at Time of Disappearance: 46 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'8"; 190 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: White male. He wore dark-rimmed glasses.
Marks, Scars: Had a childhood injury/illness that left him with one leg an inch shorter than the other. He wore one built-up shoe to compensate for the difference in the length of his leg bones.
Clothing: Dark blue trousers, with red-and-black flannel shirt under a dark blue jacket with yellow lining and a blue-gray hat.
Jewelry: Yellow-gold masonic ring with emblem, and yellow-gold watch with leather band.
Dentals: Full upper and lower dentures

Wow, good find!
 
I went ahead and sent this info to hermantown police dept, via email, perhaps I will hear back. It does seem like alot of info matches up, although there is a bit of distance. I am wondering if the property he was found is tied to the banker, mob people, etc......
 
I went ahead and sent this info to hermantown police dept, via email, perhaps I will hear back. It does seem like alot of info matches up, although there is a bit of distance. I am wondering if the property he was found is tied to the banker, mob people, etc......
ginestra, well done on sending this info in on the connection you made. It might not be a match but it is definitely a possible match given the similarities.
 
I am new and primarily a lurker. I was checking in because I am curious if there are any updates. I saw this story on my local news, so I was especially interested when I came across this thread. That was quite a find,ginestra!

About the property, I am not sure if it helps, but LE announced during a press conference that the house had only been built approx 5 years before the remains were found. Prior to that, the area was sparsely populated and heavily wooded. Not that it means that land could never have been owned by anyone prior to its development.

I hope they can find his identity. It would be something if this guy turned out to be the match and it sure sounds plausible.
 
I talked to the grandaughter via Pm, she said they were in contact with Hermantown police, and hermantown police also emailed me back and said they were checking into it, but that there was no male relatives to compare dna to. That is the last I heard. Maybe she will update us, I do have a feeling these things take awhile sometimes.
 
New article to say an update is due tomorrow on this case, with a facial reconstruction....

http://www.northlandsnewscenter.com/news/local/Update-Expected-on-1976--210998521.html

Update Expected on 1976 Hermantown Cold Case
June 11, 2013 Updated Jun 11, 2013 at 9:06 AM CDT

Hermantown, MN (NNCNOW.com) - Hermantown police say they'll announce an update to a 1976 cold case Wednesday.

On April 16th, 1976 police found a dead human body in the yard of a residence on the 3900 block of Lavaque Road in Hermantown. The identity of the person is still unknown.

....
 
Do you think he looks like George Hawkins? I thought something about lips/mouth area were similar.
 
Hermantown John Doe was a man located in Hermantown, Minnesota


Discovered April 16, 1976
Unidentified for 45 years
Sex Male
Location
Hermantown, Minnesota
Age 30 - 50
Race White
Height 5'3
Body condition Skeletal
Postmortem interval 4 - 15 years
Cause of death Not stated

Clothing and accessories
  • Wool trousers.
  • Mackinaw-style wool hat.
  • Blizzard railroad-style cap with fur-lined earflaps.
  • Suspenders.
  • Knee-length wool socks.
  • Leather chopper-style mittens with green wool liners.
  • Leather work boots.
  • Cigarette lighter with the letters A.T.C. and LUX Japan on the base.
  • Several coins most recent minted 1961.

LINK:

Hermantown John Doe
 
This man died some time between 1961 (most recent coin date) and 1972 (Med examiner's estimate).
Time of year was likely in late fall or winter judging by clothing worn.
If he was a hunter, his death was prior to the date that Florescent (Hunter) Orange was mandated (mid 1960's).
He had dentures, so there is a dental record for him somewhere.
The lighter had initials of A.T.C. on it. These could be his initials, or could have some connection to him. No information is posted as to whether or not this man was a smoker - or if he simply had a lighter to ignite a stove or campfire.
Post WW II Japan made and exported many different kinds of cigarette lighters to the United States, but it is also possible that this lighter could have been a souvenir purchased in Japan - perhaps by a serviceman.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) has a data base of missing and unidentified persons. They have an ongoing DNA project to attempt to identify some of their cases.

LINK:
https://dps.mn.gov/divisions/bca/bc...ative/Pages/missing-unidentified-persons.aspx
 
2013 rbbm
1706592211530.png
''Now that they have DNA from the skeleton, they hope to get a match -- but only if someone shows up thinking the man might be a relative. The DNA information also has been added to a national missing persons' database.

"We had a guy come in (Wednesday) who said he knew this guy -- he thinks he was from Canada -- who would pick worms on his dad's land in the area," Padden said. "When I showed him the (clay bust), he said, 'Yeah, that could have been him.' But he didn't remember the guy's name at all. Maybe someone else will."
 

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