PA PA - Donegal Twp, WhtMale 40-50, 1776UMPA, tie-dyed shirt w/French cuffs, bedspread, blanket, Feb'72

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http://doenetwork.org/cases/1776umpa.html

Unidentified Male
Date of Discovery: February 18, 1972
Location of Discovery: Donegal Township, Washington Co, Pennsylvania
Estimated Date of Death: November 1971 to January 1972
State of Remains: Full Skeletal Remains
Cause of Death: Homicide - 2 gunshot wounds to the left torso possibly from a 22 caliber weapon


Physical Description
** Listed information is approximate

Estimated Year of Birth: 1927
Estimated Age: 45-50 years
Race: White
Gender: Male
Height: 5'5 to 5'10
Weight: 140-175 lbs
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Unknown

Distinguishing Marks/Features: According to a noted Anthropologist the Victim had a general complexion probably between fair and slightly brunet. His National origin from Western Europe - British Isles, Southern Germany as most likley.

Dentals: Available
Fingerprints: Not available
DNA: Available (Pending Analysis)
Clothing & Personal Items
Clothing: Victim was clothed in a long sleeve french cuff tie-dyyed shirt size 16 green in color and green flared bottom dress pants size: w32, L 29, jockey shorts black belt. The Victim was not wearing any socks or shoes.

Jewelry: None

Additional Personal Items: None, All pockets on the Victim's clothing were turned inside out.


Case History
On 02/18/1972 a badly decomposed body was discovered along route 40 Donegal Township Washington County Pennsylvania. The time of death is estimated at 8 to 10 weeks prior to discovery. It is believed the victim died as the result of a gunshot wound to his torso by a small caliber weapon possibly a 22.

Also recovered near the Victim's remains was a bedspread,blanket, and sheet that were rolled into a ball 25 feet from the body recovery site.



Investigating Agency(s)
If you have any information about this case please contact;

Agency Name: Pennsylvania State Police
Agency Contact Person: Corporal John Tobin
Agency Phone Number: (724) 223-5200
 
The only one who comes remotely close to this UID is William Henry Ellis. He is from Baltimore Maryland missing since July 1971.

This is from doing a search in NAMUS.

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/e/ellis_william.html

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/1659/3/

He may have been the missing person from Baltimore Maryland mentioned in the article.

Snipped--Police received responses from Baltimore, MD and West Virginia. Both inquiries were ruled out.

I wonder if he was compared to this UID.
 
I don't see this man in NamUs at all, so I tried to email the person in charge of his case (the one listed on DoeNet) but I got a mailer daemon notice. :( I'll keep trying to find a way to contact them via email, though, unless someone is willing to call them for me and suggest that they add him to NamUs.

I really like William Ellis for this UID though.
 
PA doesn't seem to have a great record getting old cases into Namus. I can't see any MSM that indicates this one has been solved though.

Donegal Township is almost on the PA/OH state border so possibly looking at a body dump of an OH victim.

Route 40 (UID was found next to the road, though we don't know which side) runs East/West through 8 states but those in closest proximity to this UID found in PA are Ohio (west) and Maryland (east).

I looked through the WS missing threads for the 70's for OH and PA without luck and Namus offers slim pickings.
 
This one is intriguing. Semi-dressed up, no shoes or socks, pockets turned inside out, rolled up bedding nearby. Hmmm. o_O

1776UMPA.jpg
 
I thought I'd browse through Doe Network international cases just to see if anyone stood out. I found one that caught my eye. I'm no good at researching cases from outside of the US, so based strictly on the info on DN, it doesn't seem like a plausible match. Maybe it's just the physical appearance that stood out, but I figure there's no harm in mentioning it and getting others' opinions.

Henryk Borysk
Missing from Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, UK since July 13, 1953. He was 42 years old, 6'0", 200 lbs. No other vital stats are listed for him other than aliases. He was a Roman Catholic priest, well-known anti-communist who disappeared after receiving a mysterious phone call from an unknown person at his rectory. He spoke to the person in "hushed tones", picked up his hat and coat, left, and hasn't been seen since.

I'm not sure what to think about that; what may have happened to him or how he could have ended up dead in the USA almost 20 years later. He's a little older, taller, and heavier than the UID, but who knows how precise the information (height & weight) is.
upload_2020-3-28_7-36-5.png
 

That's quite the striking likeness, proximity (same state), height, age estimate. Weight a little low but that's a hard thing to estimate after 1o years. If trying to conceal one's identity he could have dyed his grey hair brown.

Being an older case there may not be DNA to be compared, so a manual comparison would be needed.

Is he already on the rule-out list?
 
That's quite the striking likeness, proximity (same state), height, age estimate. Weight a little low but that's a hard thing to estimate after 1o years. If trying to conceal one's identity he could have dyed his grey hair brown.

Being an older case there may not be DNA to be compared, so a manual comparison would be needed.

Is he already on the rule-out list?

Since I don't have links, we'll just throw this all under JMO.

DNA for UID: last I knew (I actually still have the email), there were two hairs found in evidence that had not previously been listed on the property record. They were to be sent in for analysis but I don't know what the outcome was. Parenthetically, getting info on this UID was no small feat.

DNA for Edward Maps: my understanding is that someone came forward saying they were related to Maps and submitted their DNA. How closely related, I don't know. Maps had siblings - a sister who married (deceased 1991) and a brother (unknown if married or if he's still alive). I'm thinking maybe a niece or nephew but then I wonder if that DNA is sufficient for a definitive rule out. That's one of the reasons that DNA status on NamUs is no longer publicly viewable. Anyway, given the number of rule outs on Maps' NamUs file, that's the DNA they are using.

To my knowledge, Maps hasn't been ruled out as UID even though I brought up the possibility to both PSP investigators.

Dentals available for UID but PSP did not have any for Maps.
Fingerprints not available for UID and PSP had none for Maps (but see attached).

I don't know why UID was never entered into NamUs. I specifically told the investigator that he'd have to enter him, I couldn't since I'm not LE, ME/Coroner.

PSP investigators at that time have both retired and moved to other areas of LE.
 

Attachments

  • Maps, Edward fngrprnt.jpg
    Maps, Edward fngrprnt.jpg
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PSP investigators at that time have both retired and moved to other areas of LE.

@CCJD do you know if PA has a specialist cold case unit? I wonder if we approached them, they would prioritise taking another look (I'm sure they have a LOT of UID to review since they don't put them into Namus for matching - at least not where we can see them). Perhaps with new LE officers there might be some new enthusiasm for new techniques like DDP?
 
@CCJD do you know if PA has a specialist cold case unit? I wonder if we approached them, they would prioritise taking another look (I'm sure they have a LOT of UID to review since they don't put them into Namus for matching - at least not where we can see them). Perhaps with new LE officers there might be some new enthusiasm for new techniques like DDP?

I've sent the information to NamUs for follow up.
 
What about Lewis Barrett Welch Jr.? It's believed he committed suicide so the homicide COD throws a wrench in this theory but everything else fits, except the red hair. How red though and how brown was JD's hair? Lewis' hair looks rather dark for being red but I get its a b&w photo. Comparing his photos (there are plenty of him on the web) to JD's sketch leaves me scratching my head and wondering.

Lewis left suicidal with a .22 revolver. If it's homicide, then its possible someone could have used his own weapon against him. He was part of the Beat movement. He moved around quite a bit which included a stay in New York. Perhaps he made his way to PA in an effort to get a fresh start or different perspective on life.

CA - CA - Lewis Barrett Welch Jr, 44, Nevada City, 23 May 1971


iu

Lew-Welch.jpeg
Original

Ring of Bone: Collected Poems by Lew Welch
Lew Welch - Wikipedia
Literrata: Remembering Lew Welch
Lew%2BWelch.JPG
 
What about Lewis Barrett Welch Jr.? It's believed he committed suicide so the homicide COD throws a wrench in this theory but everything else fits, except the red hair. How red though and how brown was JD's hair? Lewis' hair looks rather dark for being red but I get its a b&w photo. Comparing his photos (there are plenty of him on the web) to JD's sketch leaves me scratching my head and wondering.

Lewis left suicidal with a .22 revolver. If it's homicide, then its possible someone could have used his own weapon against him. He was part of the Beat movement. He moved around quite a bit which included a stay in New York. Perhaps he made his way to PA in an effort to get a fresh start or different perspective on life.

CA - CA - Lewis Barrett Welch Jr, 44, Nevada City, 23 May 1971
rsbm

The pants on UID were 29L which, IMO, would put him on the lower end of estimated height range (5'5" to 5'10"). Lewis was 6ft tall.
 
anyone mentioned William Higgins yet? from PA. will delete if already suggested!
William Alfred Higgins - 35 y/o, last seen April 1 1969, around 5'10", dark brown hair. Clothing different than UID. Facial reconstruction is always hit and miss (especially back then) but I really think he has the cleft chin and strong jawline of the UID??
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