CT CT - Martin Miller, 18, West Hartford, May 1980

redsox39

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I know that "SheWhoMustNotBeNamed" started this thread back in February...but it was closed?!? So I thought I would start this again, because I think I found a possible match...

Here is SWMNBN's original post:
Martin Alan Miller (18) - West Hartford CT, 1980
https://www.findthemissing.org/en/photos/full/33248
Martin Alan Miller

Endangered Missing from West Hartford, Connecticut since May 1980

Age: 18 -- Height: 5'10" -- Weight: 165 lbs -- Hair Color: Brown -- Eye Color: Hazel

Martin has a small appendectomy scar on his abdomen. His front teeth are very crowded and crooked.

Martin left West Hartford, Connecticut in May 1980, leaving his job at McDonalds with 2 weeks notice and saying he was headed to California. He also closed his bank accounts and withdrew about $600. He rented a car, and 10 days later he (see below...notes from Redsox)turned in in Huntsville, Alabama. The car was driven 1,700 miles, indicating he had not driven directly from West Hartford to Alabama. Martin wasn't reported missing until 1999.

NamUs: https://www.findthemissing.org/cases/show/3305
Charley: http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/m/miller_martin.html

*Now...Notes from Redsox:
Here are a few things/discrepancies I noticed in the reports:

1.Charley Project says "He rented a car and 10 days later HE returned it", implying he was alive/seen at that time. However police reports found on NamUs says "It is unknown if Miller returned the vehicle personally, only that is was returned on 6/4/80."
So anyone could have dropped it off, I know I have taken back rentals, dropped the keys in the drop slot, and left without anyone seeing me/after hours.

2. Sure, according to Google maps, the direct route from Hartford, CT to Huntsville, AL is about 1100 miles, but lets remember, this is 1980. No GPS, no cell phones, just paper maps & general geography knowledge. Could have just cruised down the coast, then headed west...or, more likely, was using the vehicle for something else...it doesn't take 10 days to drive 1700 miles. I don't really find the 1700 miles suspicious or very helpful except to eliminate the places the rental car COULDN'T have traveled during this time.

3. Worked at McDonalds...yet had a new Porche and a $400 Bike? I know wages haven't kept up with the cost of living, but this seem ridiculous! I know he could have inherited it, or come from money...but then explain why nobody reported him missing for 19 years?! I don't want to talk ill of the dead, but when I hear about the McD's Job, the Porche, the SECOND car, the bike, the seemingly unnecessary rental car, combined with the fact that no one reported him missing for 19 years, I can't help but let my mind wander towards "Drugs/Mule/Nefarious Things"...

Now, a long shot match that got me started on this guy in the first place. I live in Nebraska, and even though we get A LOT of J.Does, we almost always identify them, even along the Drug Highway (err, I mean I-80). We have only 2 John Does in NamUs, and the one I am looking at is from 1981...a White/Native American Male: https://identifyus.org/en/cases/9939

He did tell people he was going to California, so he probably would have driven right down the aformentioned Drug Highway, aka I-80, taking him all the way across Nebraska...

I know Martin Miller's info doesn't say if he is Native American or not, but he looks as if he could have that ancestry, and lets be honest, whoever reported him missing waiting 19 years, so maybe the profile isn't quite complete or accurate...which brings me to the slight discrepancies in the Height. I know when I was 17 my Driver's licence said I was 6-Foot tall. I told people I was 6-foot, but really I was more like 5-10 on a good day.

In any case...I wonder if this is a good match in your opinion or not, and also what possible conclusions can YOU come up with for the strange details of this story...

 
I know that "SheWhoMustNotBeNamed" started this thread back in February...but it was closed?!? So I thought I would start this again, because I think I found a possible match...

Here is SWMNBN's original post:


NamUs: https://www.findthemissing.org/cases/show/3305
Charley: http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/m/miller_martin.html

*Now...Notes from Redsox:
Here are a few things/discrepancies I noticed in the reports:

1.Charley Project says "He rented a car and 10 days later HE returned it", implying he was alive/seen at that time. However police reports found on NamUs says "It is unknown if Miller returned the vehicle personally, only that is was returned on 6/4/80."
So anyone could have dropped it off, I know I have taken back rentals, dropped the keys in the drop slot, and left without anyone seeing me/after hours.

2. Sure, according to Google maps, the direct route from Hartford, CT to Huntsville, AL is about 1100 miles, but lets remember, this is 1980. No GPS, no cell phones, just paper maps & general geography knowledge. Could have just cruised down the coast, then headed west...or, more likely, was using the vehicle for something else...it doesn't take 10 days to drive 1700 miles. I don't really find the 1700 miles suspicious or very helpful except to eliminate the places the rental car COULDN'T have traveled during this time.

3. Worked at McDonalds...yet had a new Porche and a $400 Bike? I know wages haven't kept up with the cost of living, but this seem ridiculous! I know he could have inherited it, or come from money...but then explain why nobody reported him missing for 19 years?! I don't want to talk ill of the dead, but when I hear about the McD's Job, the Porche, the SECOND car, the bike, the seemingly unnecessary rental car, combined with the fact that no one reported him missing for 19 years, I can't help but let my mind wander towards "Drugs/Mule/Nefarious Things"...

Now, a long shot match that got me started on this guy in the first place. I live in Nebraska, and even though we get A LOT of J.Does, we almost always identify them, even along the Drug Highway (err, I mean I-80). We have only 2 John Does in NamUs, and the one I am looking at is from 1981...a White/Native American Male: https://identifyus.org/en/cases/9939

He did tell people he was going to California, so he probably would have driven right down the aformentioned Drug Highway, aka I-80, taking him all the way across Nebraska...

I know Martin Miller's info doesn't say if he is Native American or not, but he looks as if he could have that ancestry, and lets be honest, whoever reported him missing waiting 19 years, so maybe the profile isn't quite complete or accurate...which brings me to the slight discrepancies in the Height. I know when I was 17 my Driver's licence said I was 6-Foot tall. I told people I was 6-foot, but really I was more like 5-10 on a good day.

In any case...I wonder if this is a good match in your opinion or not, and also what possible conclusions can YOU come up with for the strange details of this story...

BBM.
Where are you seeing this?

I'm Native American, and I'm not seeing any resemblance.
 
i live in ct not that far from west hartford west hartford is a fairly expensive place to live in yes there are some affordable areas but there are very wealthy areas as well . not to many people who are poor live there

if anyone wants to know more about the area i can def give them info it says he was working at mcdonalds there was a mcdonalds in west hartford on the hartford line i am sure it was there in the 80s but is now i believe a peruvian restaurant.


west Hartford has large jewish community. and a mix of other ethnic groups as well
 
Red Sox,
Your theory about the young man having traveled out west and then met with a thief who then drove the car to Alabama is a good one. It would explain the extra miles. I have been trying to find the identity of a young man found in Moab, Utah in 1982. He is too short to be Martin, but the theory could explain a Missing like this one.
 
With a name like Martin Miller, being from Connecticut, and looking at his picture, I'd say he almost has to be Jewish.

His family is still looking for him. This was posted recently: http://boards.ancestry.com/topics.lostfamilyandfriends.us/3778/mb.ashx

I notice in the post it tells about how he was very entrepreneurial with money from a very young age. Still, I'm guessing the Porsche was a gift from his parents or something.
 
An article from 1984: https://news.google.com/newspapers?...AIBAJ&sjid=XjYNAAAAIBAJ&pg=1268,2908261&hl=en

It looks like they did look for him before 1999, maybe police wouldn't take a report until 1999?

Some interesting details:
-he cleared out his room before leaving
- he also got rid of all photos of himself in the house (I'm pretty sure this is a classic "how to disappear" territory)
-He disappered at some point over Memorial Day Weekend, 1980
 
I forgot to add - I've also found his mother's obituary, and the only new information from that is that the family was indeed Jewish. Not sure how this can be relevant - since we already knew he was circumcised - but it might come in useful.
 
An article from 1984: https://news.google.com/newspapers?...AIBAJ&sjid=XjYNAAAAIBAJ&pg=1268,2908261&hl=en

It looks like they did look for him before 1999, maybe police wouldn't take a report until 1999?

Some interesting details:
-he cleared out his room before leaving
- he also got rid of all photos of himself in the house (I'm pretty sure this is a classic "how to disappear" territory)
-He disappered at some point over Memorial Day Weekend, 1980

Oh, weird. I wonder why at 18 he would want to disappear? I think also that he drove somewhere else for a while and someone took his car or murdered him and took the car. I wonder if he was disappearing for a reason and that reason found him anyway?
 
I came across this one john does nose reminds me of millers
Unidentified White Male
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1537umfl.html
1537UMFL[1].jpgimg_33248[1].jpeg
The victim was discovered on September 30, 1980 in Moorehaven, Glades County, Florida
Estimated Date of Death: 2 weeks prior
Mummified Remains

Vital Statistics
Estimated age: 25-35 years old
Approximate Height and Weight: 5'9"
Distinguishing Characteristics: Redish/brown long hair, to shoulders. Couple of days growth on face.
Clothing: Orange/red t-shirt with decal on front reading "I may turn red but don't stop". Dark bluish/brown cut off pants, waist size 32". Brown belt, 41" from tip to tip. Fruit of the Loom jockey briefs with 30" waist.
Dentals: Not available.
Fingerprints: Not available.
DNA: Not available.
Case History
The victim was located near fence post of a pasture about 20 feet from SR27/SR29
 
I came across this one john does nose reminds me of millers
Unidentified White Male
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1537umfl.html
View attachment 115215View attachment 115216
The victim was discovered on September 30, 1980 in Moorehaven, Glades County, Florida
Estimated Date of Death: 2 weeks prior
Mummified Remains

Vital Statistics
Estimated age: 25-35 years old
Approximate Height and Weight: 5'9"
Distinguishing Characteristics: Redish/brown long hair, to shoulders. Couple of days growth on face.
Clothing: Orange/red t-shirt with decal on front reading "I may turn red but don't stop". Dark bluish/brown cut off pants, waist size 32". Brown belt, 41" from tip to tip. Fruit of the Loom jockey briefs with 30" waist.
Dentals: Not available.
Fingerprints: Not available.
DNA: Not available.
Case History
The victim was located near fence post of a pasture about 20 feet from SR27/SR29

According to Namus, both Martin and UID have had their DNA run so I think this is an automatic rule-out.
 
Just reading about this case for the first time. CT resident here and had never heard of it before. Am definitely keen to look into it more closely!
 
I came across Martin’s case earlier today and thought he looked very similar to the 1982 Barron County John Doe. Honestly, other than Doe Network listing “DNA: Available/Unavailable”, I have still not figured out how to determine if it has or has not been entered into NamUs. So I apologize now if that’s the case here, but at minimum I am now aware of Martin and this thread gets some new attention hopefully! :)

I added and underlined Martin’s vitals and info directly following the UID just as a visual reminder. The height and weight are off a bit, but not so much I’d call it an automatic ruleout. Front teeth are crowded, no mention of any surgeries for Martin but I agree with the comment upthread about the probability it’s not a complete or accurate report. Also the surgery would have not been cheap and it seems like for whatever reason Martin could afford that.

The only big discrepancy was the distance from CT to WI and to AL. Around 2,200 miles. I could see if he was headed to California the highway from CT to south of Barron Co WI would be an optional route. Possibly somewhere near there is where he met with foul play. If so, the person(s) he encountered would likely have been from nearby and had their own transportation to use, accounting for the 500 mile discrepancy. There are several possible scenarios there.
(The shirt stood out a little to me...I don’t think it’s identical but very similar)

upload_2019-10-2_21-28-41.jpegupload_2019-10-2_21-29-39.jpeg
upload_2019-10-2_21-29-15.jpeg

UP8061

Doe Network
Date of Discovery:
September 21, 1982 (1980)
Location of Discovery: Dallas, Barron County, Wisconsin
Estimated Date of Death: 1981-1982
State of Remains: Skeletal
Cause of Death: Homicide by stabbing

Physical Description
Estimated Age: 18-24 years old (18)
Race: White
Sex: Male
Height: 5'7" to 5'9" (5’10”)
Weight: 180 to 195 lbs. (165)
Hair Color: Brown (Brown)
Eye Color: Unknown (Hazel)
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Surgical repair to the left knee, evidenced by a screw and staple installed in the tibia. The procedure would have required a sophisticated hospital, an extended hospitalization and a long recovery period, possibly 6 months to a year. The pin and staple were numbered, but the manufacturer had no way of tracing where the product had been used. He would have had a scar at the location of the surgery.
(Appendectomy scar, crowded front teeth)
Identifiers
Dentals: Available. Full set of teeth, with extensive, recent dental work. Crowding of lower incisors.
Fingerprints: Not available.
DNA: Available.

Clothing & Personal Items
Clothing: Blue Sears jeans with a size 38 waist, a long-sleeved plaid cotton Western-style plaid shirt with pearl buttons. A lined denim jacket, Maverick brand, white undershorts with blue stripes on an elastic waistband, white athletic socks with blue trim (nearly knee length) and blue tennis shoes with white vertical stripes, size 10. Significant wear was noted on the bottoms of the shoes.
Jewelry: Small black comb.
Additional Personal Items: Unknown

Circumstances of Discovery
In September 1982, loggers were working in a woods about 4 miles north of Ridgeland near Highway 25.

At about 15.00 on a Tuesday afternoon the loggers came across a decomposed body in the woods near an open field. At first they thought they had found a pile of clothing but then discovered the clothing contained a skeleton.

No eyeglasses were found at the scene, but the victim may have worn glasses. There was no billfold or other identification on the body.

Cut marks in the shirt and jacket correspond to cut marks on the thoracic vertebra.

It isn’t known if the person was killed at the scene or if the body was deposited there after the murder. Also unknown is how long the body was there before it was discovered. It may have been there since the fall, then frozen over the winter to be discovered the following September.

Investigating Agency(s)
Agency Name: Barron County Sheriff's Department
Agency Contact Person: Mary Dexter
Agency Phone Number: 715-537-3106
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: 114382

NCIC Case Number: U170001885
NamUs Case Number: 8061


•MMcG•
 

Missing Age 18 Years
Current Age 61 Years

First Name Martin
Middle Name Alan
Last Name Miller
Nickname/Alias --
Sex Male
Race / Ethnicity White / Caucasian
Height 5'-10" - (70 - inches)
Weight 165 - lbs

Circumstances​

Date of Last Contact May 1, 1980
NamUs Case Created December 2, 2009

Last Known Location (Map)
Location West Hartford, Connecticut 06110
County Hartford County

Missing From Tribal Land --
Primary Residence on Tribal Land --

Circumstances of Disappearance Unknown. Martin has been missing since May 1, 1980. An AVIS rental vehicle used by Martin Miller was returned to Huntsville, Alabama ten days later on 06/04/1980. Mileage on the vehicle (1,700 miles) indicated that vehicle was not driven directly to Alabama from Connecticut. Miller gave a two week notification to his last employer, "McDonald's Restaurant" and told friends he was going to travel to California. Miller left behind two vehicles at his residence, including an almost new $14,000.00 Porsche. He also gave away a $400.00 bicycle to a friend.


Circumstances Notes
0RIG CASE 6207-80

Physical Description​

Hair Color Brown
Head Hair Description Described as moderately long, thick, wiry 'sandy brown" hair, parted to the side.
Body Hair Description --
Facial Hair Description --
Left Eye Color Hazel
Right Eye Color Hazel
Eye Description Described as slightly protruding

Distinctive Physical Features
Item
Description


Other distinctive physical characteristic Circumsized adult male. Front teeth were extremely crowded and crooked.

Scar/mark Small scar on abdomen

Additional Case Info​


Comments Miller rented a vehicle from AVIS rental car company in CT, returning the vehicle 10 days later in Huntsville, AL with 1,700 traveled miles on it. No further details on what make or model of vehicle was rented. Unknown whether he turned this vehicle into rental agency personally. It is only known that the vehicle was returned on 06/04/80.
 
I forgot to add - I've also found his mother's obituary, and the only new information from that is that the family was indeed Jewish. Not sure how this can be relevant - since we already knew he was circumcised - but it might come in useful.
Well, TMI time...
I'm not Jewish & I am circumcised. I would venture to say most "Culturally Christian" kids were before the 2000's. Thanks for ruining my search history, I looked it up. lol

58% of male newborns in the US are circumcised & with American males over age 14, the number jumps to 81% are circumcised.
 

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