Identified! TX - Houston, WhtMale, 40-60, distinctive tattoos, Aug'00 - Name withheld

From NamUs: https://identifyus.org/en/cases/595

NamUs UP # 595
ME/C Case Number: ML00-2339
Harris County, Texas
40 to 60 year old White Male
Date found: August 21, 2000 00:00

Estimated age: Adult - Pre 70
Minimum age: 40 years
Maximum age: 60 years
Race: White
Sex: Male
Weight (pounds): 142, Measured
Height (inches): 70, Measured
Body conditions: Not recognizable - Decomposing/putrefaction
Estimated postmortem interval: 3 Days

Location Found
GPS coordinates: 29.770952N , -95.344613W
Address 1: 1100 McCall St
City: Houston
State: Texas
County: Harris
Circumstances: Found dead in a ditch near a train track.

Hair color: Red/Auburn
Head hair: Red
Body hair: Unknown
Facial hair: Gray, long beard
Left eye color: Unknown or Missing
Right eye color: Unknown or Missing

Tattoos: Upper left arm - Butterfly on skull; head of wild cat; topless woman. Left forearm - "Ethel; blurred name, heart, 4 petal flower; cartoon character with tophat; cross-like figure. Right upper arm - multicolored tattoo of topless woman with "Rebel" banne (cut off in NamUs)

Medical Implants: Orthopedic hardware of right distal femur. Significant arthritis of right knee. Healed fractures of left distal radius and ulna. Significant osteoarthritis of vertebreal column. Wire in mandible at left gonial angle. Several broken ribs at different st (cut off in NamUs)

Skeletal Findings: Significant arthritis of right knee. Healed fractures of left distal radius and ulna. Significant osteoarthritis of vertebreal column. Wire in mandible at left gonial angle. Several broken ribs at different stages of healing.

Status: Fingerprint information is currently not available
Status: Dental information / charting is available and entered
Status: Sample submitted - Tests complete

Clothing on Body:
Blue jean and single gray sock.

From Harris County Medical Examiner: http://www.harriscountytx.gov/CmpDocuments/21/Unidentified Decedent Fliers/2000-08-21.pdf

HCME case #: ML00-2339
Police agency and case number: HPD 109887000G
Date of death (recovery by HCME): 08/21/2000
Recovery location: 1100 McCall St, Houston, TX
Sex: Male
Age: 40-60
Race: White
Hair: Reddish-blond, straight; ~12 inches gray moustache and beard
Eyes: unknown
Property: The decedent was wearing blue jeans and one gray sock.

Identifiers: The decedent had a large number of tattoos, including:

• Upper left arm - Butterfly on skull; head of wild cat; topless woman.
• Left forearm- "Ethel; blurred name, heart, 4 petal flower; cartoon character with top hat; cross-like figure.
• Right upper arm - multicolored tattoo of topless woman with "Rebel" banner and confederate flag.
• Right forearm - spider web; castle with grave yard and fence with “John Paul Jones" and initials 'TLC"; woman wearing a bikini; face of man with a spider web.
• Right chest - "Eva";
• Right thigh - Cross on top of heart.

Previous right knee surgery. Extensive arthritis of right knee, left forearm, and lower back.

Details: The decedent was found in a ditch parallel to the railroad tracks in a moderate-advanced state of decomposition.

From Doe Network: http://www.doenetwork.org/hot/hotcase1215.html

The Doe Network: Hot Case 1215
Unidentified White/Hispanic Male
The victim was discovered on August 21, 2000 in Houston, Harris County, Texas

Estimated Date of Death: 3 days prior
Cause of Death: Cardiovascular disease

Vital Statistics

• Estimated age: 40-60 years old
• Approximate Height and Weight: 5'9-5'11"; 130-145 lbs.
• Distinguishing Characteristics: Blond/red hair. Gray, long beard.
• Scars, Marks, Tattoos: Upper left arm: tattoos of a butterfly on a skull, a wildcat head on upper left arm and a topless woman.
• Left forearm: Ethel; blurred name, heart, 4 petal flower; cartoon character with top hat; cross-like figure.
• Right upper arm - multicolored tattoo of topless woman with "Rebel" banner. A spider web, a castle, moon, stars.
• Orthopedic hardware of right distal femur. Significant arthritis of right knee. Healed fractures of left distal radius and ulna. Significant osteoarthritis of vertebreal column. Wire in mandible at left gonial angle. Several broken ribs at different stages of healing. Right knee surgery.
• Clothing: Blue jeans and single gray sock.
• Dentals: Available.
• DNA: Available in FBI NMPDD.

Case History
The victim was located in a ditch near a train track, at 1100 McCall Street, in Houston, Texas.

From NamUs:

Exclusions
The following people have been ruled out as being this decedent:First Name Last Name Year of Birth State LKA
James Bradford 1942 Arizona
MICHAEL WATKINS 1949 Nebraska

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One possibility although there is a five year gap between date last seen and the UID being located as well as over 350 miles.

Links:
http://charleyproject.org/cases/l/lowell_charles.html
https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/23126/0/
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1233dmtx.html
http://abilenecrimestoppers.com/missing.aspx

Charles Franklin Lowell



From NamUs & Doe Network:

The Doe Network: Case File 1233DMTX
NamUs MP # 23126
Missing since January 19, 1995 from Abilene, Taylor County, Texas.
Classification: Missing

Vital Statistics

• Date Of Birth: December 3, 1957
• Age at Time of Disappearance: 34 years old
• Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'8"; 140 lbs.
• Distinguishing Characteristics: White male. Red hair; green eyes.
• Fingerprints: Available
• Dental information / charting is available and will be entered later
• DNA - Status: Sample is currently not available
• Tattoos: Missing person has several tattoos, but not all are documented. He has one on his right arm and one on his upper left arm.

Circumstances of Disappearance
Last seen in Abilene, Texas January 19, 1995.

I'm curious about the UID's tattoo of the name "John Paul Jones." I thought perhaps it was a Led Zeppelin reference. Google's top result for the name is actually that of the Scottish sailor and the United States's first well-known naval fighter in the American Revolution. However, the context of the castle, graveyard, fence, and "TLC" acronym don't seem to fit either - perhaps it is actually a name with a personal connection?

I would guess that "Ethel" would be his grandmother since that name would have been more popular for that generation.

By the same token, I would guess 'Eva" over his heart would be a daughter? Or girlfriend.

^Definitely possible.

Just wanted to also note that the age at disappearance listed for Charles Franklin Lowell is wrong on the Doe Network profile (which is what I copied above for comparison). He was 37, not 34.

Given the injuries, probable he threw an embolism. Tattoos remind me of the Des Moines UID, a bit.

tifflee, were you thinking about submitting this? The UID has a tattoo of a wildcat head that might connect him to Abilene, Texas, from which Charles Franklin Lowell disappeared. Abilene Christian University's mascot is a wildcat, and there are streets and businesses in Abilene with wildcat-related names and logos.

I tried to look for more information on Charles Franklin Lowell. Only one of his immediate relatives, a sister, is still alive. She lives out of state. I believe he also has some male-line nephews living out of state. His parents and other siblings are buried in Illinois and Texas. So far I haven't found any direct relatives named Eva or Ethel.

zinc said:

I tried to look for more information on Charles Franklin Lowell. Only one of his immediate relatives, a sister, is still alive. She lives out of state. I believe he also has some male-line nephews living out of state. His parents and other siblings are buried in Illinois and Texas. So far I haven't found any direct relatives named Eva or Ethel.

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Following up on this, I also found that his brother, residing in the same town, died (I believe suddenly) just a few weeks before Mr. Lowell's date of last contact. Don't know that there's necessarily any connection, but it may have been a shock.

The UID's list of tattoos is strongly suggestive of prison time. Might be another connection worth looking into, if anyone knows how to find information on past Texas inmates.

^ Thanks, zinc!

I submitted the match today. Long shot, but I am curious. I'll post if/when I receive a reply.

Also, per NamUs for Charles Franklin Lowell:

The missing person's aunt stated he had not been heard from since 1-19-95. Report was taken 5-15-95.

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It looks like his missing date might be a bit fuzzy.

biker? (injuries, tattoos)

It always saddens me a little that with these tattooed UIDs they're so individual and different to everyone else, and yet sometimes that isn't enough to get them home.

tifflee said:

I submitted the match today. Long shot, but I am curious. I'll post if/when I receive a reply.

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Thanks for following up, hope you receive a reply. Glad to hear that both the date of last contact and date of report were recorded since it's so common for the difference between the two to be ignored.

Regarding the "Eva" and "Ethel" tattoos, not the same as "Eva," but found later that one of Mr. Lowell's grandmothers (deceased many years) went by "Evelyn" and was nicknamed "Evie".

Not much help...but spider web tattoos use to mean the person was doing or had done time..In the late 70's they also represented white supremacist groups

Of the two graveyard tattoos I've seen before...both people had their deceased fathers name on it...


Classito

Dr. Love & her team at the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences continue to impress me with their responsiveness. I received an email from Dr. Pinto today that Charles Lowell has been excluded based on fingerprint comparison and that NamUs has been updated.

That said, I can no longer see this UID's profile anymore on NamUs. It says I do not have permission. Anyone else have this issue? Is it because they are updating the rule-outs?

I get the same message...I find I get that message when an ID has been made...But not sure if that is the only time the message is used


Classito

I get the same message. Wonder if they made an error when trying to update the casefile? I would think they would have told tifflee if this person had been ID'd, no?

No, they don't necessarily notify people. That error definitely means they've taken the case file out of public view and the most common reason is that he's been ID'd.

Charles Lowell's profile is still visible and we know he was ruled out anyway. I don't see any other suggested matches in this thread.

Dr. Pinto wrote a nice follow-up and let me know that this UID has been identified. There isn't anything sensitive directly related to the case in her email so I think it is okay to share here.

I just wanted to let you know that by resubmitting the decedent’s fingerprints, we managed to get him identified yesterday. Although the name you provided was not him, we did get a positive hit to someone else. So, thank you for initiating a review of this case.

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I am thankful someone has their name back tonight after nearly 14 years and hopefully their family knows, too. Kudos to the team at Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences!

I am curious how many old/archived fingerprints are added to the system on a regular basis since so often, the focus is on DNA.

Also, this makes me feel really good about the sleuthing done on this forum, Doe Network, etc. Even if we don't end up with a match with a lot of inquiries, we help make sure these missing and unidentified persons' profiles get another look despite the dust. Kudos to all!