NC NC - Waynesville, I-40 Exit 7, WhtMale 25-40, UP6291, malnourished, scars, clothes, May'04

[dotr]

rbbm.
Unidentified Person / NamUs #UP6291 | NamUs (ojp.gov)

Date Body Found
May 28, 2004
Location Found
Waynesville, North Carolina
Est. Age Range
25 - 40 Years
ME/C Case Number
04-4653/B04-1367

 

[sasha17]

Some additional detail from the Enterprise of Spring Hope newspaper, in an article dated October 25, 2021:

- The cause of death was starvation
- He was found along the Appalachian Trail, in a grassy area near Interstate 40’s Exit 7, which leads to the Harmon Den, a large horse and hiking campground
- The body wasn’t there at 3 p.m. the day before, according to archived news reports.
- His clothing included a red or maroon shirt, black leather belt, black utility pants and white underwear. The man didn’t have socks or shoes.

This news article also references Websleuths and seems to imply there was a thread here for this case. Is there another thread? I looked but couldn't find one.
(Edit: Found it. I'll alert the mods to merge: NC - NC - Waynesville, I-40 Exit 7, WhtMale 25-40, UP6291, malnourished, scars, clothes, May'04)

Man’s body found barefoot on mountain trail - Restoration NewsMedia <MOD NOTE: Original link broken; edited to include current link as of October 8, 2022>

 

[sasha17]

@othram has a new page for this man:

"The North Carolina Unidentified Project has now partnered with Othram with the goal of using advanced forensic technology to identify this man or his family."

Who is Haywood County John Doe (2004)?

 

[Susikatze]

Being found close to a highway exit makes me wonder whether he was hit by someone and then dumped at the nearest exit.
Or he was hit in the dark, crossing the exit and was either thrown into the grass by the impact or crawled there severely injured and died.

 

[Susikatze]

How was his COD starvation if he was hit by a car and was not there the day before? Sure he could have been hit and starved to death because nobody found him but that would not happen within a day.
Something is inconsistent.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Who is Haywood County John Doe (2004)?
Haywood County John Doe

 

[azure]

How was his COD starvation if he was hit by a car and was not there the day before? Sure he could have been hit and starved to death because nobody found him but that would not happen within a day.
Something is inconsistent.

I think the one report stating that he was hit by a car may be incorrect, given that every other report states that he died from starvation/malnourishment.

 

[Curious_in_NC]

I wonder if he was not wearing socks/shoes or if those were left off the list of clothing he had on.

It sounds like he did not have shoes and socks. It's possible, but less likely, that the shoes were knocked off by the hit and run accident, if that in fact even happened. Or maybe more likely is that they were nice shoes or boots and an opportunist helped themselves to them before he was found, along with any wallet or IDs he had.

The autopsy seemed quite detailed regarding his scars. I would think if it looked like he routinely went barefoot they might have recognized that too from the condition of the feet. But that would be pretty unusual if that was the case.

 

[cenazoic]

Update to the Enterprise article linked above:

“UPDATE: As of Jan. 20, 2022, the cause of death in this case remains unconfirmed.

"However, during the autopsy the unidentified man was found to have several injuries that were consistent with being hit by a motor vehicle." said Michael Vogen, director of Case Management for Othram Labs in Texas.”

 

[imstilla.grandma]

JAN. 27, 2022 - New light is being shed on a nearly 20-year-old cold case in Haywood County dating back to 2004, thanks to new methodology involving genome sequencing and DNA profile creation for John and Jane Does. Since 2004, Haywood County investigators have tried to identify the body of a man (pictured: rough sketch of man) found along a rural road, near the Harmon Den Exist off Interstate 40 near the Tennessee state line.

“It was kind of weird where it was at,” said Captain Tony Cope, of the Haywood County Sheriff’s Office. “It’s traveled by not as traveled as some of the other areas."

The body became known as John Doe in case number 2004-01812.

“At the end of the day, this is somebody’s family member,” Cope said. “[He’s] somebody’s son, brother, maybe even husband.”

“The mere fact that we’ve retrieved somebody’s loved one and we’re not able to identify them is aggravating,” Cope said.
Light being shed on nearly 20-year-old Haywood Co. cold case thanks to new methodology

 

[imstilla.grandma]

“About all the cases that we've solved have failed different methodologies and companies within the last couple years,” said Michael Vogen, of Othram.

Othram, a private laboratory based in Texas, uses forensic-grade genome sequencing; the company uses small trace amounts of DNA to create a profile of John or Jane Does.

“In layman's terms, it is that we're accessing the human component information within that evidence to build a human genome that is, that individual,” said Vogen.

Captain Cope said he believes the assistance from Othram is a step in the right direction for the case.

“We learned the DNA was a little degraded in the beginning,” Cope explained. “It appears they have been able to retrieve some DNA to assist us.”

Vogen said Othram heard about the case from the group North Carolina Unidentified Project.

'SERIAL' PODCAST CASE POSSIBLY LINKED TO NMB COLD CASE MURDER

“It's not a well-known case,” said Vogen. “He was a guy that was found, passed away, and no one came to identify him or claim him as family. There are hundreds of thousands of these cases. What this means is that the science that is breaking these crazy cases can be applied to all cases, and it should be.”
It remains unclear what led to the man’s death.

Othram claims on its website several of John Doe’s injuries are consistent with being hit by a motor vehicle.

However, investigators in Haywood County say the facts of what led to his death remain inconclusive.

Captain Cope said the department hasn’t ruled out homicide.

“The facts of the autopsy right now as we know, shows starvation and dehydration,” explained Cope. “I would say he was probably placed there.”

As time goes on, the case has become harder to solve, but the hope is that Othram can finally crack this case.

“I think it's just important that this new technology is applied to cases that can benefit from it,” said Vogen. “We have a new tool in the tool bag, so to speak, for these investigators, and they're looking for these tools."

The project is expensive, with a price tag of $5,000.

There is currently a fundraiser to help fund the project. Click here to learn more.

Light being shed on nearly 20-year-old Haywood Co. cold case thanks to new methodology

 

[Goecke]

I wonder if he was disabled and this is a case of caregiver neglect?

The fact that his head hair and facial hair is the exact same length seems interesting- Sounds like he shaved his head at the same time he shaved his face. He seems pretty well-groomed, aside from being so thin, so I don't think he was homeless/a transient. If he was a hiker that got lost, he probably would've been reported missing, but who knows- Maybe this is similar to the Vance Rodriguez case where he intentionally dropped off the grid for whatever reason.

 

[Curious_in_NC]

Nothing about his clothing suggests he was a thru-hiker, but maybe he was taking a rest day. That might explain the trim beard. But anyone leaving their gear behind at a hostel or other lodging would almost surely have been noticed.
Losing considerable weight on hikes is not unheard of.
<modsnip: unapproved source>

 

[John/Jane Doe]

Who is Haywood County John Doe (2004)?

 

[John/Jane Doe]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

741UMNC

Who is Haywood County John Doe (2004)?

 

[PingTheRouter]

Websleuths has comitted to helping fund this case through our live show donations, we are donating 20% of all our donations each month to help champion a case with Othram
if you want to help you can donate via our Paypal address Pay Websleuths.com, LLC using PayPal.Me

if you want to go directly and donate to Othram on a case you like you can do this as well via www.DNAsolves.com

you can find out more about this new project below on our live show from today

 

[Caring1]

4 MP’s have been ruled out for Haywood County John Doe:

Missing Person / NamUs #MP328Daniel Holling
Date of Last ContactFebruary 14, 2003
StateMN
CountySt. Louis

Missing Person / NamUs #MP5655Clifton Leonard
Date of Last ContactAugust 22, 1983
StateFL
CountyPolk

Missing Person / NamUs #MP10627Kevin Kulek
Date of Last ContactSeptember 16, 2001
StateMI
CountyBay

Missing Person / NamUs #MP830Gordon Page, Jr.
Date of Last ContactMay 26, 1991
StateMI
CountyKent

 

[samsmom]

Love that Websleuths is committing proceeds to help identify this gentleman. Proud of Tricia

 

[John/Jane Doe]

The case has been fully funded:

Who is Haywood County John Doe (2004)?

Haywood County Sheriff's Office and the NC Unidentified Project Partner with Othram to Identify a John Doe from 2014

dnasolves.com

 

[Anomalocarididae]

4 MP’s have been ruled out for Haywood County John Doe:

Missing Person / NamUs #MP328Daniel Holling
Date of Last ContactFebruary 14, 2003
StateMN
CountySt. Louis

Missing Person / NamUs #MP5655Clifton Leonard
Date of Last ContactAugust 22, 1983
StateFL
CountyPolk

Missing Person / NamUs #MP10627Kevin Kulek
Date of Last ContactSeptember 16, 2001
StateMI
CountyBay

Missing Person / NamUs #MP830Gordon Page, Jr.
Date of Last ContactMay 26, 1991
StateMI
CountyKent

Strikes me as a bit odd that Joshua Korvin hasn't been ruled out yet. Does anyone know why this might be the case? Sounded like a good suggestion as to who this man may be. Had a look at Namus before browsing this thread again and Korvin was my first guess, and it seems people in this thread had the same idea.