PA PA - Sunbury, Susquehanna River, Wht/HispMale 16-21, 3UMPA, excellent dental care, Aug'86

[carbuff]

This is the woman you're thinking of that could have come from further north, she was found in the Allegheny River not Susquehanna though. I'm not sure if the same reasoning could apply to this man in this circumstance?

No, different person than I was thinking of, but yes, that's essentially the same reasoning. He could have come from a significant distance upstream. (I'm on my phone so it's hard to look things up -- will try to find the details of the other case later.)

 

[Beamie]

http://www.pahomepage.com/news/i-team-the-unnamed-the-mystery-of-the-man-in-the-river

Some call it the Mystery of the Man in the River....

The body of the young man was found on the morning of August second 1986 floating in the Susquehanna River in Northumberland County, not far from Northumberland Borough.

Investigators say he was between the ages of 16 and 21.

A white male.

He was totally naked. There was no jewelry or any identifying marks like tattoos or piercings.

Nearly 30 years later his identity remains unknown.

His death was ruled as an accidental drowning but detectives are baffled about why no one has ever come looking for him. Despite widespread media attention to the case when it happened.

Dr. Mary Pascussi is a forensic pathologist. She has worked on thousands of death investigations...


"There are enough individuals out there who are not part of the network who if they go missing nobody knows."

Inside the morgue at the Wilkes-Barre General Hospital the experts will tell you that indeed dead people do tell their tales. They do tell stories they tell how they died. Many mysteries are solved on autopsy tables.

"We all leave a trail that's what we do everything from going to the dentist having surgery done. There are trails that follow us there are changes that are documents somewhere." Said Dr. Pascucci

Dr. Pascucci says that even in cases like the man in the river in Northumberland County.. It is only a matter of time until he is identified.


"Somewhere there is a document of the individual. It's just a matter of putting it together."

If you have any information about the man in the river...Contact state police.

 

[webrocket]

Would help with the image if they actually depicted the deceased with shoulder length hair.

I am not buying the accidental drowning. We're not talking about the America of Mark Twain. Who would go swimming in the 1980's in the Susquehanna River completely butt naked?

Seems to me the dude was robbed then dumped into the river. Obviously he was not shot or stabbed but I can't imagine that river being easy to swim in.

 

[carbuff]

Yeah, he definitely ought to have long hair in the reconstructions. I don't know whether they figure his hair was shorter when he went missing, or what.

There are swimming holes along the Susquehanna, but it's more likely that he fell in while fishing, or from a capsized boat or canoe, or slipped while running on a riverside trail, or something along those lines. They estimate he was in the water for a month in full summer, so it's entirely possible he wasn't wearing much clothing and what there was decayed or pulled off by the currents.

 

[ctaylor]

A small mention for this case on this new article...

http://www.pennlive.com/news/2015/12/review_of_cold_cases_planned_a.html

Also unsolved is the identity and cause of death of the naked man whose badly decomposed body was found in the Susquehanna River at Port Trevorton on Aug. 2, 1986.

The remains have been exhumed twice. The first was in 1990 for an autopsy by a forensic pathologist. The autopsy results were inconclusive.

The second time was in 1996 so a Philadelphia artist could make a bust. The resulting recreation is believed to be of the face of the man between 18 and 22 years old.

....

 

[carbuff]

Two ruleouts now: https://identifyus.org/cases/6859

The following people have been ruled out as being this decedent:
First Name Last Name Year of Birth State LKA

Bryan Fisher 1967 Pennsylvania
Mario Saavedra 1965 New Jersey

 

[carbuff]

Two ruleouts now: The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

The following people have been ruled out as being this decedent:
First Name Last Name Year of Birth State LKA

Bryan Fisher 1967 Pennsylvania
Mario Saavedra 1965 New Jersey

MP20143 Brandon Robbins 08/21/1982 Cape May NJ

has been added to the exclusions.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

 

[GJKJR]

I have no clue why the NamUs page for this decedent lists Upper Mahanoy Township as the location where the remains were discovered. Like others have said, UM is in south-central Northumberland County, quite far from the (main branch, at least) Susquehanna, which runs through much of the southwestern fringe of the county before curving eastward near Sunbury/Northumberland. Definitely buying the Sunbury/Northumberland side of the story more, but I'm going to see if I can find some news articles on this Doe to clarify further.

 

[GJKJR]

Here are some news articles about this case. It turns out that the decedent was actually found in the Susquehanna about 8 miles south of Selinsgrove, very close to the Snyder-Northumberland County line. Eyeballing it with Google My Maps, I'd say the decedent was most likely found along the stretch of river between Port Trevorton in Snyder County and Herndon in Northumberland County.

Apparently, another body was found very close to where the decedent's body was found. They, however, were later identified.

Interestingly, a lot of variation in the vital statistics between articles. While NamUs and Doe Network say the decedent was between 16-21 y/o, some of these articles state that his age was likely closer to 25-35 y/o. Some of the articles list him as being as short as 5'6", compared to the 5'10"-6' listed on Doe Network. Two articles state the decedent was likely around 160 lbs as well.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Hi everyone. I’m not sure if this article belongs here. I’m out of my wheelhouse in these forums. I’m trying to learn. Can anyone let me know if there is a thread for “Herman Doe”? @carbuff ? Do you know?


It was 35 years ago Monday a badly decomposed body of a naked man was found by two fishermen in the Susquehanna River in the Port Trevorton area.

The remains have never been identified, but to state police and Northumberland County Coroner James F. Kelley it is still an open case.

A bust created in 1996 by Philadelphia artist Frank Bender that re-created the man’s face still is in the Stonington substation.

Trooper Josiah Reiner who currently is assigned the case labeled “Herman Doe”, said he reviews the file every six months looking for a clue that might have been overlooked.

There is speculation the man, who is buried the county-owned cemetery in Coal Twp., was in the country illegally and that is why no clues to his identity have cropped up over the years.

There were no reports of missing persons from the Sunbury area 35 years ago, investigators said.

A partial autopsy performed a few days after the remains were found Aug. 2, 1986, focused only on the chest and stomach. Drowning was ruled as the cause of death..

The body was exhumed in 1990 for an autopsy by a forensic pathologist who could not determine the cause of death but ruled it unnatural.

The remains were dug up again in 1996 so Bender, who specialized in re-creating faces, could have access to the skull to make the bust.
Body discovered 35 years ago in the Susquehanna still unidentified but the case remains open

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Cont’d:


At the unveiling, he expressed confidence that anyone who knew him would recognize him but no one has.

“Nothing matched up,” recalls Carey Latshaw, a retired state trooper who had the case then.

The man was described as Hispanic, between 18 and 22 years of age, with neatly trimmed shoulder length dark brown hair. His height and weight were estimated to be 5-10 and 180 pounds.

He had brown eyes but only one was found with the remains that were unrecognizable due to the stage of decomposition, police said.

He was not considered a drifter because his teeth were in good condition.

It was theorized then the body was in the river five days and had drifted no more than five miles.

Attempts to find a DNA link through the North Texas Center for Human Identification have been unsuccessful, Kelley said.

The man has been in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons Systems database since 2010.
Body discovered 35 years ago in the Susquehanna still unidentified but the case remains open