PA PA - Reed Twp, Susquehanna River, WhtMale 37-65, UP8324, craniotomy, "Publick House 1855", Apr'86

Jgrabko

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I'm interested in more info on this case... namely, if a modern DNA test might be possible, if they know where the remains were buried. I'd be willing to attempt to raise funds.

Unidentified Male
Date of Discovery: April 28, 1986
Location of Discovery: Reed Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania
Estimated Date of Death: December 1985 to January 1986
State of Remains: Not recognizable - Decomposing/putrefaction
Cause of Death: Hypothermia or drowning

Physical Description
** Listed information is approximate

Estimated Age: 37-65 years old
Race: White
Gender: Male
Height: 5'7" to 5'8"
Weight: 150-200 lbs.
Hair Color: Gray, partially bald with hair up to 4 inches in length and a full gray beard and mustache.
Eye Color: Unknown

Distinguishing Marks/Features: Disfigurement of the right ankle. A hole, 1 ¼" in diameter on the right side of the skull possibly caused by brain surgery. A healed fracture to the base of the skull, running from ear to ear. Both the hole and fracture of the skull were old wounds. The hole in the skull was probably the result of surgery due to the severe skull fracture. The severe skull damage most likely left this individual mentally retarded.

Dentals: Available. He appeared to have had either no dental care or had episodic treatment through his life.
Fingerprints: Not available.
DNA: Not available.
Clothing & Personal Items
Clothing: Heavily clothed in an unbuttoned red flannel shirt, a T-shirt, blue/brown/red plaid flannel shirt, cardigan sweater, khaki jacket similar to a military fatigue jacket, a vest with a leather-like exterior and a fleece-like interior, pants with a brown webbed belt, and reddish-brown boots with black rubber-like soles. Pants were tucked in top of the boots.

Jewelry: A gold-colored plastic crucifix on a cord around his neck.

Additional Personal Items: A book of matches with "Publick House 1355" and four feet of clothes line cord were found in his pocket.

Case History

The victim was located lodged under a coal barge approximately twenty feet off the west shoreline in the Susquehanna River, just off State Route 11/15. It was believed that the body drifted down the Susquehanna River to the location where it was found.

Investigating Agency(s)
If you have any information about this case please contact;

Agency Name: Pennsylvania State Police - Newport Station
Agency Contact Person: Trooper Cory Robenolt or Donald Chewning
Agency Phone Number: 717-567-3110

Agency Name: Dauphin County Coroner's Office
Agency Contact Person: N/A
Agency Phone Number: 717-564-4567

Agency Case Number: LE: H5-413155
NCIC Case Number: U202620277
NamUs Case Number: UP #8324


http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1045umpa.html
https://identifyus.org/cases/8324
 
The hole in the skull was likely a burr hole- drilled emergently to relieve pressure on the brain (caused by the trauma resulting in that significant fracture). And the size of the burr indicated that the UID was an adult or nearly an adult when the fracture happened. (A burr hole in a child would be smaller, and infants have no real need of them if their fontanelle is still open)

You'd think a significant event like that would make it into a MP report. IF he was reported missing of course.

The multiple layers of clothing and clothesline in his pocket lead me to think he was homeless, sadly.
 
The multiple layers of clothing and clothesline in his pocket lead me to think he was homeless, sadly.
I am thinking the same thing based on his clothing and possessions. Based on the date of 1986 and his prior head injury, and the unfortunate truth that so many of our veterans end up homeless -I am wondering if he was a veteran.
 
I searched for a Publick House 1355 restaurant or bar but found nothing. I wonder if anyone from PA remembers such a place.
 
I searched for a Publick House 1355 restaurant or bar but found nothing. I wonder if anyone from PA remembers such a place.
.

Publick House in Sturbridge MA has a different logo on their website, but perhaps their logo changedin the time since our UID was found.
 
I searched for a Publick House 1355 restaurant or bar but found nothing. I wonder if anyone from PA remembers such a place.

I'd bet that should be 1855 not 1355, maybe water damage to the matchbook cover. Figure Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492 and the Pilgrims didn't land at Plymouth Rock until 1620.

Publick Houses I've looked at:
Sturbridge Publick House (MA) - founded 1771
Geryville Publick House (PA) - founded c.1745
Wycomb Publick House (PA) history goes back to "late 1800s" (haven't found anything more accurate yet).
 

Attachments

  • 1045umpa matchbook enlarged.JPG
    1045umpa matchbook enlarged.JPG
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I'd bet that should be 1855 not 1355, maybe water damage to the matchbook cover.

I think you may very well be correct. Here is a snapshot of a "Matchbook Cover - Publick House Hotel Magee Bloomsburg PA 30 Strike" which looks very similar in terms of the font used and coloring above the print.

upload_2022-2-24_19-0-41.png
 
I think you may very well be correct. Here is a snapshot of a "Matchbook Cover - Publick House Hotel Magee Bloomsburg PA 30 Strike" which looks very similar in terms of the font used and coloring above the print.

View attachment 334659

Great find! I do believe you've found where the matchbook came from. And, according to this from Google books, Hotel McGee was built in 1855:
Hearings, Reports and Prints of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
 
I got this case from PSP in 2008 to be added to DN and my old PA Missing site. So any info available is what they gave to me. I've done a lot of searching in news archives trying to find anything about when he was found and come up empty. So frustrating. So thank you for finding this @HopeRains . PSP believes he floated down the river to where he was found. This tells us that he most likely did not enter the river via the west branch. So he came from somewhere north and/or east...

Google Maps
 
Jeffrey Herrold was working on a coal barge along the Susquehanna River in Dauphin County on April 26, 1986 when he spotted the body in the water, floating toward him.
Dauphin County John Doe

District Attorney Fran Chardo points to a map on the floor of the Dauphin County courthouse to show where the county's John Doe was found. With him are PSP Trooper Kelly Abati and Cpl. Kyle Tobin. (Photo by Matthew Krupp)
 
This may be a bit of a reach but I want to put this out there. I was interested in this thread as I'm a nosy person who lives near this area (Cumberland County) I did some digging and found a Missing person from 1980 Named Jennings Lee Hart. He was a documented Schizophrenic who didn't always stick to his medication regiment. Per Google, Lobotomies were a treatment used in schizophrenia cases as well as a correlation between Traumatic Brain Injuries (skull fracture) and Schizophrenia. He matches the general description, 5'8", 150lbs, Grey hair, beard and mustache. He was last seen in Marienville PA which is roughly 3 hours from Bloomsburg (Where John doe's matchbook is from and is thought to be the POE into the Susquehanna.)

If Jennings went into a full schizophrenic episode, it could explain the possible homelessness and heavily clothed exterior. Also it states that at the time of his disappearance, Jennings was dating several women at once, some of whom were married and may have been a victim of revenge. It does say that the ME believes John Doe's skull injury would have left him mentally impaired but it's not a definite either. It could be nothing, and this all happened before I was born so this could have already been considered but I thought I would bring it to light just in case. His son is a singer songwriter for the band Tonic and does believe his father was murdered.

Doe network page on Jennings
Charley Project entry on Jennings
 
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This may be a bit of a reach but I want to put this out there. I was interested in this thread as I'm a nosy person who lives near this area (Cumberland County) I did some digging and found a Missing person from 1980 Named Jennings Lee Hart. He was a documented Schizophrenic who didn't always stick to his medication regiment. Per Google, Lobotomies were a treatment used in schizophrenia cases as well as a correlation between Traumatic Brain Injuries (skull fracture) and Schizophrenia. He matches the general description, 5'8", 150lbs, Grey hair, beard and mustache. He was last seen in Marienville PA which is roughly 3 hours from Bloomsburg (Where John doe's matchbook is from and is thought to be the POE into the Susquehanna.)

If Jennings went into a full schizophrenic episode, it could explain the possible homelessness and heavily clothed exterior. Also it states that at the time of his disappearance, Jennings was dating several women at once, some of whom were married and may have been a victim of revenge. It does say that the ME believes John Doe's skull injury would have left him mentally impaired but it's not a definite either. It could be nothing, and this all happened before I was born so this could have already been considered but I thought I would bring it to light just in case. His son is a singer songwriter for the band Tonic and does believe his father was murdered.

Doe network page on Jennings
Charley Project entry on Jennings
Lobotomies are no longer performed in the United States. They began to fall out of favor in the 1950s and 1960s with the development of antipsychotic medications. The last recorded lobotomy in the United States was performed by Dr. Walter Freeman in 1967 and ended in the death of the person on whom it was performed.

For much more info on Jennings Lee Hart, I highly recommend "Behind the Magic Mirror" by his ex-wife, Sandra Hart.
 
wrong thread
 
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I am thinking the same thing based on his clothing and possessions. Based on the date of 1986 and his prior head injury, and the unfortunate truth that so many of our veterans end up homeless -I am wondering if he was a veteran.


I'm wondering if it is worth posting on a veteran forum to see if anyone recognises him?
 

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