CA CA - Hinkley, WhtMale UP2510, 12-30, 'DON' belt buckle, Oct'78

New Posts

T

tatertot

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 28, 2008
Messages
996
Reaction score
1,230
I tried to recreate Carl's template for this UID, who is not yet listed on the Doe Network.

NamUs UP # 2510 https://identifyus.org/en/cases/2510


Unidentified White Male

Found on October 8, 1978, in Hinkley, San Bernardino County, California

Vital Stats

Age: 12-30
Height: 5'5" (65 inches, "measured")
Weight: 135 lbs. ("measured")
Hair: Blonde/strawberry, shoulder length
Eye Color: Unknown

Clothing

* No clothing aside from a corroded piece of metal described as a "possible belt buckle" inscribed with the name "DON"

Circumstances

Exactly two words: "shallow grave"

Body Condition:

Decomposing/putrefaction

Identifiers:

Fingerprints: Not available
Dentals: Available
DNA: Sample submitted - Tests complete

----------------------

That's definitely a belt buckle. Here's an identical one for sale on Amazon, also inscribed with "DON" although these vintage buckles can be found with many male first names. The site says it's a brass-colored pewter buckle made by Oden Inc. I emailed this link to the NamUs Regional Administrator.

Amazon.com: Retro Personalized DON Pewter Belt Buckle by Oden: Everything Else

donbeltbuckle_zps85fc2e3a.jpg


Every listing for these buckles describes them as being made in the Seventies, and the UID was thought to have died "months" before. His clothing and the belt itself had apparently all disintegrated (unless there was so little of it left it was indistinguishable and this wasn't mentioned in NamUs) and even that large chunk of metal was badly corroded.

There are no missing Donalds or Donovans in NamUs or Charley Project who even remotely fit the age, height and hair color description.

Hinkley is an unincorporated town in the Mojave Desert. Could "Don Doe" be a victim of William Floyd Zamastil, who had killed and left other young victims in the desert in early 1978?
 
Nice job on the buckle (and on the template)!!
 
That belt buckle is much too disintegrated to only have been there a few months.

Looking at MP's named "Don" or a variation of "Donald" who are missing in or before 1978, I see Donald Curtiss Jr. missing from Tucson AZ.

http://www.nampn.org/cases/curtiss_donald.html

attachment.php


But the location and circumstances don't seem to fit.

The only other Dons missing in or before 1978 are:

Donald Lee Baker http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/b/baker_donald.html
Donald George Siskar http://www.nampn.org/cases/siskar_donald.html
Donald Adams http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/a/adams_donald.html
 

Attachments

  • curtiss_donald.jpg
    curtiss_donald.jpg
    10.4 KB · Views: 127
Forgetting the belt buckle for a minute....I'm going to throw out the name Paul Allard. NamUS 5787

He was 14 when last seen in August 1976
64 inches and 110 lbs

He was trying to get from FL to CT when he disappeared which makes me think he was hitchhiking and could have fallen prey to a predator. :(

I wish his parents had provided a more up to date pic as the one shown clearly portrays a boy younger than 14 JMO
 
If the remains were complete, as it says, shouldn't they have been able to get a better age estimate than 12 to 30?

Is the soil in that part of California particularly acid or alkaline? That can cause cheap pewter or pot metal to deteriorate very quickly.
 
Did a bit more research into those Oden brand belt buckles with the first names on them....seems like they were popular/trendy around 1975. Given that it was a trend, I'd think this is more likely to be a teenager. JMO of course. Especially at 5'5. I find that fairly short for a man of 30--although not impossible I realize.
 
Last one for now:

Edward Nye missing from Oregon in June 1978 at 14 years old. His pic even shows blond shoulder length hair. Was last seen wearing jeans so a belt/belt buckle makes sense.

I read on his Charley Project page that he was doing some type of outdoor activity outside Butte Falls in Prospect, Oregon with his church group. He told his brother he was going fishing by himself and I guess that was it. I searched and searched to see if his brothers name could have been Donald/Don/Donato/Donny/Donnie but I came up empty handed.:banghead:

Also with the last name Nye, I wonder if DON could have been initials vs a first name. Or he just found it out there in Prospect and pocketed it. It could have already been in rough shape given the outdoor area his group was at.

I hope that made sense. I should be in bed!
 
That style of belt buckle has always been popular in the West -- but usually in brass or silver, sometimes gold. These are more likely designed for the tourist trade. Usually there's a rack with buckles or other souvenirs with the 20 or 30 most common first names on them. They tend to be sold in places like gold rush towns, ghost towns, old West sites, etc. That would tend to indicate a younger person as well.
 
Pinkruby said:
Last one for now:

Edward Nye missing from Oregon in June 1978 at 14 years old. His pic even shows blond shoulder length hair. Was last seen wearing jeans so a belt/belt buckle makes sense.

I read on his Charley Project page that he was doing some type of outdoor activity outside Butte Falls in Prospect, Oregon with his church group. He told his brother he was going fishing by himself and I guess that was it. I searched and searched to see if his brothers name could have been Donald/Don/Donato/Donny/Donnie but I came up empty handed.:banghead:

Also with the last name Nye, I wonder if DON could have been initials vs a first name.

I hope that made sense. I should be in bed!
Click to expand...

I picked up Nye also. Circumstances make it highly likely he drowned, but you never know. In the 70s people did sometimes just pick up and go without telling anybody, particularly if there were family or lifestyle issues. And there were several Dean Corll type monsters around picking up boys to murder.

I have my doubts whether that belt buckle belonged to the person in the grave.

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/n/nye_edward.html
http://www.oregon.gov/osp/MCC/pages/nye_edward.aspx
http://www.missingkids.com/poster/NCMC/756709
https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/6458/31
http://www.nampn.org/cases/nye_edward.html
 
It would be interesting to know if the belt buckle was found at Don Doe's waist, suggesting he had been wearing it when he died. It's described as a "possible" belt buckle, which suggests no trace of a (presumably) leather belt was found or they would have known it was a buckle for certain. If he was wearing jeans, wouldn't at least the buttons and zipper have been found in the soil?

I wish there was some information about wisdom teeth, at least, to give a possible hint on his age. Twelve to thirty is a big range.
 
tatertot said:
It would be interesting to know if the belt buckle was found at Don Doe's waist, suggesting he had been wearing it when he died. It's described as a "possible" belt buckle, which suggests no trace of a (presumably) leather belt was found or they would have known it was a buckle for certain. If he was wearing jeans, wouldn't at least the buttons and zipper have been found in the soil?

I wish there was some information about wisdom teeth, at least, to give a possible hint on his age. Twelve to thirty is a big range.
Click to expand...

Wisdom teeth, bone growth areas -- yeah, with a complete skeleton, you would think they could narrow it down. Mr. Carbuff suggested that perhaps the skeletal remains indicated an adult male but his small stature made them think he could be younger.

I think we should submit Nye and Allard both. Allard was known to be hitching rides, and the area Nye went missing from is pretty much a straight shot down I-5 and across on CA58 (https://goo.gl/maps/JZuPy).
 
One ruleout: Anthony Allen 1962 Arkansas

Information added to circumstances:

John Doe #14-78" was found in a shallow desert grave approximately 2 miles West of Highway 395 near Hinkley, California on October 8, 1978, and in the advanced stages of decomposition. He is described as a White male juvenile, 5 '5 " tall, 135 lbs, with long blonde or light brown hair. His age is estimated to be somewhere between 12 and 17 years of age (but may be as old as 30). There were no visible scars or tattoos. His top left tooth was capped and there were other caps and metal fillings in his teeth.

Dentals and DNA are available, and the Namus case file has been updated recently.
 
Donald would make a strong potential match if it weren't for the distance b/w where he was last seen (NY) and where JD was discovered (CA). I suppose he could have ran away or was abducted then taken out west. His name, age, LKA date, height and weight match JD's estimates, but his hair color is off. I wonder if he wore a "DON" buckle on his belt? All speculation and MOO.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
Donald Nelson Devinney
Date of Last Contact - April 18, 1975

Circumstances of Disappearance - Devinney was last seen by a stepbrother at approximately 7:30 pm as Devinney headed out on Lake Ontario in a canoe. The canoe was later spotted out on the lake unoccupied, and was eventually recovered on shore in Jefferson County NY three days later. There has been no confirmed contact with Devinney since.

Accessories
BLACK TRUCK DRIVER TYPE WALLET WITH CHAIN TO BELT, HUNTING KNIFE ON BELT

Clothing
BLACK & WHITE PULLOVER SWEATER, BLUE JEANS, LONG BROWN CORDUROY COAT W/ FUR COLLAR, AND COWBOY TYPE BOOTS-GREY IN COLOR, BLACK WALLET W/CHAIN TO BELT
 
I bought one of these belt buckles last year for my husbands 40th birthday, although it said made in the 70's, it looked brand new to me when it arrived (my husband loved it BTW)
If this belt buckle was the mass produced kind then I would say it was a first name, if it was a personalised kind then it's possible the letters could be initials instead.
That being said, I can't help but think the buckle is a distraction or red herring!
My thoughts are we should be looking at every missing male that fits the profile regardless of whether the name or initials fit.
 
He's someone's son, possibly brother, probably cousin...

It's sad to see someone so young unidentified for decades and likely to remain so.
California has 2,800 UIDs in NamUs.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

DNASolves

Who is Escambia County John Doe (1989)?

Members online

... and 97 more.
Total: 3,593 (members: 98, guests: 3,495)

Online statistics

Members online
98
Guests online
3,495
Total visitors
3,593
Totals may include hidden visitors.

Forum statistics

Threads
591,661
Messages
17,957,192
Members
228,583
Latest member
Vjeanine
Back
Top