Identified! NY - Harlem, BlkMale 1609UMNY, 20-30, USMC Tattoo, Jun'97 Leroy Bernard Matthews

I asked my husband about a few things this weekend...he's ex-Navy and served in the first Gulf War. First, he was not fingerprinted when he went into the Navy, so it's highly likely that this UID wouldn't have been either. Also, we are assuming that the UID was in the Marines. There is the slight possibility that he was never a Marine and got the tattoo as a memorial to someone else or he just wanted to have a cool tattoo. My husband said that he has seen people do that, so the tattoo may not tell us anything.

He did say that the Force Recon group was a very elite group that didn't have a lot of members. So, if he truly was a part of this group, there has to be people out there that remember him.

With the length of time it has taken anyone to ID him, I'm starting to lean towards the fact that the tattoo may not be indicative of his service. I hope I'm wrong.

Did anyone else notice that in the description of his clothing it said "Gray cutoff sweatpants" AND "jeans." Can anyone think of a reason why he would be wearing both of these things?

CherBearSTL said:

I asked my husband about a few things this weekend...he's ex-Navy and served in the first Gulf War. First, he was not fingerprinted when he went into the Navy, so it's highly likely that this UID wouldn't have been either. Also, we are assuming that the UID was in the Marines. There is the slight possibility that he was never a Marine and got the tattoo as a memorial to someone else or he just wanted to have a cool tattoo. My husband said that he has seen people do that, so the tattoo may not tell us anything.

He did say that the Force Recon group was a very elite group that didn't have a lot of members. So, if he truly was a part of this group, there has to be people out there that remember him.

With the length of time it has taken anyone to ID him, I'm starting to lean towards the fact that the tattoo may not be indicative of his service. I hope I'm wrong.

Did anyone else notice that in the description of his clothing it said "Gray cutoff sweatpants" AND "jeans." Can anyone think of a reason why he would be wearing both of these things?

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I don't know if it is a trend now only or it also was in 1997, but the students I have (and some parents) will wear their workout clothes under their uniform pants or jeans - sagging the pants/jeans sometimes.

It is likely that if he was not in the sservice, perhaps it is a tribute to a friend or family member who was killed in action.

Does anyone have any resources within the Marine's that we may be able to check with? It seems like this should be so easy to figure out. We know that he had to be staying somewhere close by, or at least somewhere close to New York. He had to have possessions somewhere such as a wallet and clothing. I just keep thinking that somehow the people in his family or his friends think that he just left for some reason. I have spent hours upon hours trying to find someone that is looking for someone that matches his description, and I'm coming up with nothing.

My reasearch of the 1st Force Recon unit shows that it was active in Vietnam and in Desert storm, which means that the tattoo could be either for himself or a family member. If the tattoo was for himself, I would guess that he would have been around 25years old. Although, I continue to flip-flop on the tattoo being for someone else because there is no name associated with it. Most people that do a tattoo as a tribute will include some type of initials or name.

He was a smaller guy, only weighing 130 lbs and 5'7". That's really thin for a guy. Either he was still active military and in very good shape, or he hadn't been eating for a while. Maybe he was just naturally thin. Also, he appears to be very light skinned. Is it possible that he has been incorrectly identified as being black?

My final thoughts are this....I wonder if they think this was an accident or someone pushed him? That could help put this whole thing in perspective. Was he intoxicated?

This case is making me crazy!!

Also, I was looking at the Subway station where he was found. I think it's incorrectly listed as "145th St. and St. Nicholas Station." I can only find a "125th St. and St. Nicholas Station." I'm not sure how that helps in anyway, but I would rather have ALL of the facts correct. This seems like a fairly large station that could go in any direction.

OK. I was able to get in touch with my friend who is active duty USMC. He has experience as an MP (miliatry police) as well. He said that 1st Force Recon is about a1500 man size unit, its very elite, and the Marines, especially infantry Marines of that unit, are hand selected and screened to the fullest. It would say a lot of his character indeed if he was truly a 1st Force Marine. (There is a 2nd Force, and 3rd Force as well, but on Lejeune and Japan respectively). 1st Force IS based out of Camp Pendleton, CA. The term would be probably 3 years, as that is a normal tour of duty.

They do actively somewhat look for a Marine who fails to show up for duty, but after a lengthy time, the Marine usually has a warrant for arrest put out for him, and is admin transferred to the Marine Corps Absentee Collection Unit. They have cross country "Chasers" that go to collect the "deserter" if they are picked up somewhere on that warrant (ex. traffic stop). They are not actually listed as "missing" in the sense that we would be able to see them in any missing persons report (NamUs etc.) just as a "Deserter" or as "UA" (unauthorized absence).

So, from what I gather, if a John Doe is found, LE would run thru a missing persons database, and in this case, he would NOT have show up because he has not been declared missing, unless a family member chooses to have him listed.

As we know, with an adult, with no proof of anything happening to him, back in 1997, it could have been very hard for a family member to have him declared as "missing". I hear all the time "Adults have the option to disappear..." So IF he was a Marine, chances are pretty good he is not in any missing persons database that we are going to find.

My friend gave me some good ideas on where to search for members of this elite group of Marines. Hopefully someone from there will remember him. I will let you all know what I find out.

Wow! That's some really good information. Let us know what you find out from those resources he told you about. Hopefully we can get his picture into the right hands and someone will remember him. Did he tell you if there is any way to search for people that went UA during that time that would have been at his level in the Marines? I'm guessing there isn't a database. Is there any way to contact the MP with this?

It's surprising to me that this man did not have any ID on him (especially if he was an active duty Marine.) I wonder if he was robbed or mugged prior to his death.

There is a database of UA's, but I'm not sure how far back they go. I will check. Maybe the GI rights line could help also? And VA's? Tags might help also, if he registered two sets with a family member.

Will look into it.

Really hoping this poor guy didn't have a moment of despair after serving our country, and commit suicide.

My friend gave me this link as a source for Absentee Marine Collection... It says once the warrant is issued for UA or Deserter the records go to:

Deserter Information Point (DIP)
Located at the Navy Annex in Arlington, Virginia
Point of contact (24 hours a day) for all Marine Corps deserter-related issues
The central repository for all Marine Corps deserter-related information
Location from which Marine Corps deserters’ Federal Fugitive warrants are entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) system
SNCOIC – Vacant
(703) 614-3248 (24 Hours)

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Would someone feel comfortable calling? I am still so new at this I'm not really sure what questions to ask.

My friend did not know if they could search records in reverse (without a name).

http://www.hqmc.usmc.mil/PP&O/PS/psl/corrections/absenteeCollection.asp

Wanting2Help said:

My friend gave me this link as a source for Absentee Marine Collection... It says once the warrant is issued for UA or Deserter the records go to:



Would someone feel comfortable calling? I am still so new at this I'm not really sure what questions to ask.

My friend did not know if they could search records in reverse (without a name).

http://www.hqmc.usmc.mil/PP&O/PS/psl/corrections/absenteeCollection.asp

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I'll happily call. Thanks!

Oriah said:

It's surprising to me that this man did not have any ID on him (especially if he was an active duty Marine.) I wonder if he was robbed or mugged prior to his death.

There is a database of UA's, but I'm not sure how far back they go. I will check. Maybe the GI rights line could help also? And VA's? Tags might help also, if he registered two sets with a family member.

Will look into it.

Really hoping this poor guy didn't have a moment of despair after serving our country, and commit suicide.

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Oriah, Thank you for helping!!
I was wondering why he wouldn't have id on him also.

How often does a man of his age commit suicide in this way? I heard men are more likely to use a gun, rope etc. While a woman may use pills... I think being electrocuted would be an awful way to go!!

I was wondering why he wouldn't have id on him also.

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Maybe he just decided to run out for a while and left his wallet at home. They don't say that he had nothing in his pockets...he just didn't have any identification. I have left the house and forgotten my purse before, but not very often. It would be very coincidental that he just so happened to forget his ID at home on the day he died.

Another interesting fact....I looked through the news archives from the NY Times and there is not 1 story about this happening. So, if this guy fell onto the tracks and it was never reported in the media that this happened, no one would have ever known. When I do a search on Google by date, or by some general keywords from the story, nothing ever comes up except this Websleuths page. I guess it was never reported to the public. Once again, a very unfortunate situation.

CherBearSTL said:

Maybe he just decided to run out for a while and left his wallet at home. They don't say that he had nothing in his pockets...he just didn't have any identification. I have left the house and forgotten my purse before, but not very often. It would be very coincidental that he just so happened to forget his ID at home on the day he died.

Another interesting fact....I looked through the news archives from the NY Times and there is not 1 story about this happening. So, if this guy fell onto the tracks and it was never reported in the media that this happened, no one would have ever known. When I do a search on Google by date, or by some general keywords from the story, nothing ever comes up except this Websleuths page. I guess it was never reported to the public. Once again, a very unfortunate situation.

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BBM: I did the exact same thing. Ran searches on a bunch of sites- can't find a thing. While not unheard of, I did find it a bit odd. Even checked the MTA- nothing.
Seems like they would have had to report a death at the very least?? If only to the state??

Something is odd here.

I just looked it up and it looks like the address he was found falls under the NYPD 30th Precinct. Ph (212) 690-8811 but I can't find an email adress for anyone there. (I do much better with emailing then I do on the phone LOL) I wonder if they would be able to give more info than the medical examiner did? They pretty much had nothing.

Why do you think they would have waited so long to list him in NamUs? He was found in 1997, not listed until 2010.

Seems like they would have had to report a death at the very least?? If only to the state??

Something is odd here.

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For sure! I really think that there is more to this story, but I have no idea what. I can't find this incident reported anywhere. I wonder if the date is wrong???

Why do you think they would have waited so long to list him in NamUs? He was found in 1997, not listed until 2010.

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I wonder if somehow his case slipped through the cracks. Maybe they thought he had been identified and he really hadn't. But that still doesn't explain why there was ZERO coverage of this in the news. I think someone needs to call the detective in charge...if one exists?!

CherBearSTL said:

I wonder if somehow his case slipped through the cracks. Maybe they thought he had been identified and he really hadn't. But that still doesn't explain why there was ZERO coverage of this in the news. I think someone needs to call the detective in charge...if one exists?!

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I was going to do that but the medical examiner who is listed as the contact for this case does not know who it is. I think it falls under the 30th precinct though.

Do you think this might be why he didn't get very much attention?

There are 17 Unidentified Males found in New York County in 1997. If you include outside of the couny there are 40. (I looked very quickly on NamUs)

Well, records at MTA LE explain why no record there. 1998 is earliest, because that's when they combined. Duh. My bad.
Still doesn't explain zero media, though... huh.

So, what can we do? Does someone feel comfortable enough to contact the 30th precinct by phone? I'm at work until 4pm, which is 5pm NY time. I think that's the only thing we can do at this point, unless someone has some success with the military UA office.