FL FL - Miami, WhtMale 662UMFL, 16-20, blonde, alias 'Bobby Copeland', Jan'88

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Babyslims

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I tried to search but nothing came up. (I know I've seen stuff about this john doe before, just cant think of where)
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/662umfl.html

Case File 662UMFL


  • The victim was discovered on January 5, 1988 in Miami, Dade County, Florida
  • Cause of Death: Homicide
Vital Statistics



  • Estimated age: 16-20 years old
  • Approximate Height and Weight: 5'6" (168 cm); 153 lbs (69 kg) .
  • Distinguishing Characteristics: Blond hair; brown or gray eyes. He had scars on his left forearm, right forearm, right thigh, and on both wrists.
  • Other: He had given his name to others as "Robert" or "Bobby Copeland" and claimed he was a foster child from NY State, but searches under that name have been unproductive.
Case History
The victim was located in a hotel in Miami, Florida on January 5, 1988. At the time, he was working with a group of young persons as a magazine subscription salesman



Was wondering if this missing person could possibly be him.. Just thought i'd check or see if anyone who's looked at either of these cases might know if its been ruled out?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://www.missingkids.com/missingk...aseNum=601937&orgPrefix=NCMC&searchLang=en_US

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/102dmfl.html

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/w/wetmore_chester.html

[SIZE=+1]CHESTER WETMORECase Type: Endangered Missing DOB: Aug 21, 1971Sex: MaleMissing Date: May 27, 1986Race: WhiteAge Now: 35Height: 5'8" (173 cm)Missing City: BRADENTONWeight: 130 lbs (59 kg)Missing State : FLHair Color: BrownMissing Country: United StatesEye Color: BrownCase Number: NCMC601937Circumstances: Chester was last seen leaving his home on the evening of May 27, 1986. He was wearing jeans, a blue checkered shirt and boots.
[/SIZE]
 
Wonder why they had to do a reconstruction if he was found in a hotel? Also, if he was a foster kid (possible - my friends were able to bring their foster child to live in Maryland when they moved from Florida), he may have been using the same last name as his foster parents. However, given that it doesn't look like anyone was searching for him, he was more likely a street kid IMO. Will have to look through photos of missing kids - seems like the combination of blond hair and grey eyes might be unusual.
 
Are there so many missing/unaccounted for foster children in NY that it would be impossible to compare him to all that might match, even if the name doesn't?
 
Thanks for the links suzanne! Still trying to see if I cant find an article or something on this other guy...


Really hate how they dont put much information out there grrr!!!
 
https://identifyus.org/cases/1212

Ruleouts include
Steven Anderson 1957 New Jersey
Steve Arrowood 1956 North Carolina
Rogelio Cerda 1959 Texas
Michael Gaughan 1957 Texas
Reed Jeppson 1949 Utah
Danny Jones 1959 Texas
Robert Keck 1963 Pennsylvania
John Kinsora 1963 Arizona
Randall Leach 1960 Idaho
Darrel Nichols 1955 Utah
Brian Page 1958 Oregon
Tom Starkel 1960 California
Mitchel Weiser 1956 New York


Chester Wetmore's stats are given alternatively as 5'8; 130 pounds (Doe) or 6'0 145 pounds (Charley), both slightly taller than the UID who was 5'6 and 153 pounds.
 
James Barnes, currently on death row, is being interviewed in the new documentary series on death row inmates on Discovery ID. I just heard James claim responsibility for two murders, Chester being one. The other was an unsolved murder where he dumped the body, and the filmmaker was able to check with authorities and where he said he left the body of the female victim was exactly where the victim was found.

Barnes claims he buried Chester. I'm inclined to believe him. He seems to blame the victims for their own deaths as much as he blames himself (he dubiously claims that the female victim stole his wallet, and that Chester stole from him also.) But if they were able to verify he was telling the truth about one of his unknown victims, I think it's likely he may be telling the truth about the other.
 
I contacted NAMUS case manager for UID to see if they could run DNA against Chester Wetmore...before I saw the thread. In any case, if we can positively rule him out that would at least prevent someone else spinning wheels.
 
He always looked like a Daniel to me.
But do we know how he died? And this isn't the first time something happens to a magazine seller. I've heard about atleast 3 other cases where travelling magazine sellers either have been killed or have disappeared
 
He vaguely reminds me of an older David Warner.
20186

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/11761/15
 
The real Bobby Copeland is a noted book author who primarily specializes in writing about Western/cowboy movies. He specializes in writing about the actors who starred in the B westerns. He became fascinated with the B westerns at a very young age.

Link: http://www.cowboydirectory.com/C/Copeland_Bobby/Copeland__Bobby.html

He is also a frequent speaker at cowboy conventions and cowboy film festivals, and helped get at least one person into the Cowboy Hall of Fame.

I wonder if the UID liked cowboy movies, was from a "cowboy state" such as MT, WY, or the Dakotas; or had some connection to the Oak Ridge, Tennessee area, where Bobby Copeland is from.
 
Chester Wetmore is now on the ruleouts list https://identifyus.org/cases/1212

Exclusions
The following people have been ruled out as being this decedent:

First Name Last Name Year of Birth State LKA

Steven Anderson 1957 New Jersey
Steve Arrowood 1956 North Carolina
Rogelio Cerda 1959 Texas
Michael Gaughan 1957 Texas
Reed Jeppson 1949 Utah
Danny Jones 1959 Texas
Robert Keck 1963 Pennsylvania
John Kinsora 1963 Arizona
Randall Leach 1960 Idaho
Darrel Nichols 1955 Utah
Brian Page 1958 Oregon
Tom Starkel 1960 California
Mitchel Weiser 1956 New York
Chester Wetmore 1971 Florida
 
IMO the reconstruction looks like he could possibly be younger than the 16 - 20 age range. If I saw only the second reconstruction I'd guess he was 13 - 14.
 
Bluecat said:
Wonder why they had to do a reconstruction if he was found in a hotel? Also, if he was a foster kid (possible - my friends were able to bring their foster child to live in Maryland when they moved from Florida), he may have been using the same last name as his foster parents. However, given that it doesn't look like anyone was searching for him, he was more likely a street kid IMO. Will have to look through photos of missing kids - seems like the combination of blond hair and grey eyes might be unusual.
Click to expand...

If he was a foster kid, it's entirely possible that no one was really looking for him, especially if he had aged out of the system before he disappeared. He might've had no family at all.

Also, they may have had to do a reconstruction because he was shot.
 
The picture doesn't particularly resemble him, but other descriptors seem like they could...
Christian Boldt https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/21072/9/

Also, this one looks a little more like him. I know his height is listed as 6', but I know those measurements can be off. Also, he apparently stole and forged some of his dad's checks before he left home, so that might be why he was hiding his ID/saying he was a foster kid. He had scars on both his wrists, and although he had a tattoo, it was on his left forearm, and the UID had a scar on his left forearm, so maybe he had it removed (again, possibly trying to not be found)?
John Nellans https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/8773/13/

What do y'all think? I'll keep looking.
 
Ok, last one before bed. Gosh, it's hard to compare pictures, especially if the kid was a lot younger when he disappeared. Anyway, can't say much for the resemblance here, but the boy ran away from a boys home in KY in 1983 when he was 12. He had a birthmark, but I don't know how noticeable it was.
Chipley Sanders https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/5011/39/
 
I went ahead and submitted John Nellans to Miami Homicide as a possible match. I will update if I hear anything back.

ETA: I also emailed the contact from John's NamUs page.
 
Well, the contact on John's NamUs page emailed me back that she would look into it. Nothing from Miami Homicide. I guess that's why they say you should contact people on both ends. I will update if I hear anything more.
 
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