FL FL - Osceola County, WhtMale UP581, 40-60, Florida Turnpike, Kissimmee, Sept'89

Desayama

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1002UMFL - Unidentified Male

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Reconstruction of victim

Date of Discovery: September 22, 1989
Location of Discovery: Kissimmee, Osceola County, Florida (Off Florida Turnpike at the 210 mile marker.)

Estimated Date of Death: 3-18 months prior
State of Remains: Not recognisable - Decomposing/putrefication
Cause of Death: Unknown/possible homicide

Physical Description:

Estimated Age: 40-60 years old at death
Race: White/Caucasian
Gender: Male
Height: 6'0''
Weight: 165lbs (Estimated.)
Hair Colour: Brown
Eye Colour: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Body hair appeared to be brown or somewhat lighter. Healed fracture of the right nasal bone. Collapsed vertebral disk between the 4th and 5th lumbar, which may have caused back pain in life.

Identifiers

Dentals: Removable full dentures.
Fingerprints: Not available.
DNA: Available.

Clothing and Personal Items

Clothing: Jeans were present and were size 32Wx34L. Jockey type shorts were also present and had a 32 inch waist.

Circumstances of Discovery

The victim was located at the 210 Mile marker of FL Turnpike, Kissimmee, FL.
Two men travelling on the Florida Turnpike, had vehicle trouble near the 210 mile marker. They exited their car and walked down the shoulder in search of water, and came across the remains.

Investigators

District Nine Medical Examiner ALSO: Osceola County Sheriff's Office and Ashley Shaughnessy
Sheri Blanton
407-836-9400


Information Sources

The Doe Network: Case File 1002UMFL

Unidentified Person Case





 
There's a missing truck driver from about that time frame who might fit the description.

If I can find him...

Hey thanks for responding! By truck do you mean a Ford truck because if so, is this the guy you were looking for? - Donald L Hood missing from Columbia, Tennessee on January 8th, 1989? He was 56 years old. If not, his resemblance to the reconstruction makes me consider him a possibility.

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Missing Person Case

-Desayama
 
Nice find and he does look very likely. Not much information about him in Namus, is there?

No, I meant John Deetz, a long-haul trucker who went missing somewhere between his home in Iowa and a grocery store near Spokane, Washington where he delivered his last load. He appears to have been killed for his brand-new tractor unit that was found a couple of years later after having been through a chop shop. He may have been killed by another trucker.

But Deetz is too short at 5'8" and a bit too young as well (38).

Unidentified Person Case

Interestingly, there's a rather long list of unidentified he's been compared to, and they're all in Virginia.
 

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Nice find and he does look very likely. Not much information about him in Namus, is there?

No, I meant John Deetz, a long-haul trucker who went missing somewhere between his home in Iowa and a grocery store near Spokane, Washington where he delivered his last load. He appears to have been killed for his brand-new tractor unit that was found a couple of years later after having been through a chop shop. He may have been killed by another trucker.

But Deetz is too short at 5'8" and a bit too young as well (38).

Unidentified Person Case

Interestingly, there's a rather long list of unidentified he's been compared to, and they're all in Virginia.

Thanks! I can definitely see the resemblance between John Deetz and the UID, but yeah his stats don't fully match up with Deetz having black hair and the UID having brown e.t.c.
I read up on it and it's a fascinating case, might see if Ralph Benson was in Florida at any time? For Donald there really isn't anything about his disappearance that is given apart from his Ford truck being abandoned at a bridge. I might look into it a bit more and see if I can find any other suitable UID's before maybe submitting? I'll keep Deetz in mind though.
 
Thanks! I can definitely see the resemblance between John Deetz and the UID, but yeah his stats don't fully match up with Deetz having black hair and the UID having brown e.t.c.
I read up on it and it's a fascinating case, might see if Ralph Benson was in Florida at any time? For Donald there really isn't anything about his disappearance that is given apart from his Ford truck being abandoned at a bridge. I might look into it a bit more and see if I can find any other suitable UID's before maybe submitting? I'll keep Deetz in mind though.

My first thought for Donald is that he threw himself in the river--but then somebody parking the truck there would want you to think that. And if he was skipping town for financial or legal trouble, he might want to create the impression he killed himself.
 
My first thought for Donald is that he threw himself in the river--but then somebody parking the truck there would want you to think that. And if he was skipping town for financial or legal trouble, he might want to create the impression he killed himself.

Aha that's all true, smart way of thinking! I'm leaning towards a homicide more than a suicide considering how no one's managed to find him. However, the Duck River is the largest river in Tennessee (difficulty of finding him), but it's also famed for it's very clean water so surely a decomposing body would have effected the cleanliness and someone would've checked out that area? Or am I being very naive lol? A man was found dead in the Duck River in September 1989, it's on websleuths and thought it would be Donald but then I noticed the person had been identified... But two men in the same month disappear and one ends up in the river and the other one's never heard from again, bit odd. A coincidence or linked?

Identified! - TN - Columbia, male body in Duck River, Sep'89 - Joseph Oden
Body Found 22 Years Ago Is Army Vet 5-04-2011
 
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It looks like Hood disappeared in January, so maybe not that odd a coincidence, but it does seem strange.

I think this is the location where Hood's Ford was found. It appears to be a fishing access but it's not far off I-65 and not that far south of Nashville. Google Maps

I notice that one of the photos shows him with a large fish; if he was a fisherman, that would make an accident a lot more likely.

But I guess he might also have decided to walk away for whatever reason, and wound up in Florida.
 
Correcting the last post, Donald vanished in January, not September. However, both did disappear from the same area in the same year.
It looks like Hood disappeared in January, so maybe not that odd a coincidence, but it does seem strange.

I think this is the location where Hood's Ford was found. It appears to be a fishing access but it's not far off I-65 and not that far south of Nashville. Google Maps

I notice that one of the photos shows him with a large fish; if he was a fisherman, that would make an accident a lot more likely.

But I guess he might also have decided to walk away for whatever reason, and wound up in Florida.

Just realised my mistake oops, info overload. The fishing accident does seem like a likely story but wouldn't he had told his wife that he was going fishing... Anyway, I'll carry on looking for UID's for Turnpike Doe.
 
Correcting the last post, Donald vanished in January, not September. However, both did disappear from the same area in the same year.


Just realised my mistake oops, info overload. The fishing accident does seem like a likely story but wouldn't he had told his wife that he was going fishing... Anyway, I'll carry on looking for UID's for Turnpike Doe.

You'd think so, wouldn't you?

I think he's a good possible and worth submitting.
 

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