Identified! MD - Glen Burnie, WhtMale Skeletal 29UMMD, 18-30, in trash can, Apr'85 - Roger Kelso

PonderingThings

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http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/29ummd.htmlhttp://www.doenetwork.org/cases/29ummd.html

# Unidentified White Male Located on April 23, 1985 in Glen Burnie, Anne Arundel County, Maryland.
# Cause of death was homicide
# Estimated Date of Death: 5 months prior to discovery.

Vital Statistics

* Estimated age: 20 - 30 years old
* Approximate Height and Weight: 5'8" - 5'11½"; 155 lbs.
* Distinguishing Characteristics: Brown hair. Slim build.
* Dentals: The victim may have been treated at a dental school. The quality and extensiveness of care would be costly from private practice, and time-consuming, probably interfering with a regular daytime job. Typically, dental schools operate during weekday business. To receive this type of dental care from a dental school, he may have been unemployed, worked part-time, or evenings/nights.
* Clothing: He was wearing a blue and black wool sweater; light-colored button shirt; beige pants, size 28 waist; and black leather tie shoes. He had what appeared to be an apartment/hotel key with some letters.
PLEASE SEE LINK FOR PHOTOS OF KEYS
 
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29UMMD.jpg
BJones.jpg

John Doe on left, Brian on right.

Brian Edward Jones
Missing since January 7, 1985 from San Mateo, San Mateo County, California.
Classification: Missing

Vital Statistics

* Date Of Birth: January 16, 1964
* Age at Time of Disappearance: 20 years old
* Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'10"; 150 lbs.
* Distinguishing Characteristics: White male. Brown hair; blue eyes.
* AKA: Bryan Emil Jones
* Dentals: Available

Circumstances of Disappearance
Jones was last seen January 7, 1985 in San Mateo, CA.

Possible match?:
1. Its really tough to see a resemblence to the reconstruction...
2. Age, height, race, hair color and weight all match
3. Estimated date of death is about end of November 1983 - Brian went missing January 7 1985 - which would mean the death estimate is off by 2 months - possible.
4. Although its possible that Brian left California, arrived in Maryland and was killed there is no information to determine if this is likely.

Not really sure about this one....
 
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29UMMD.jpg
IMacKeigan.jpg

John Doe on left, Ian on right

Ian David MacKeigan
Missing since October 22, 1984 from Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Classification: Missing

Vital Statistics

* Date Of Birth: December 19, 1963
* Age at Time of Disappearance: 20 years old
* Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance:5'9"; 184 lbs
* Distinguishing Characteristics: White male. Brown, medium length hair; blue-green eyes
* Clothing: Reddish brown leather bomber jacket, navy blue rugby pants, white and red hi top leather basketball shoes. He also wore a distinctive ring on his right hand.
* Dentals: Available
* Vehicle: Red 1979 Horizon TC3 hatchback with a black interior and Nova Scotia license plate 57-34-81.

Circumstances of Disappearance
MacKeigan left his Halifax home on October 22, 1984 and was never seen again.
He was driving his vehicle, a red 1979 Horizon TC3 hatchback with a black interior and Nova Scotia license plate 57-34-81. The car has never been located, either.
A blue ten-speed bicycle was in the back of MacKeigan's car at the time of his disappearance. The front wheel of the bike had been removed.

**************
Possible match?:
1. The reconstruction does resemble Ian a lot.
2. Age, height, race and hair color match. Ian is about 30lbs heavier than the estimated weight for John Doe.
3. Although Ian went missing in Halifax (Canada) its on the east coast and many people in the 1980s would take the ferry which sailed from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia to Portland, Maine. Glen Burnie, Maryland is 9 hours down on the I-95. Assuming that Ian did this, and was heading south towards warmer weather, it would also explain the hotel keys in the victim's pocket. Perhaps he got into a fight at a local bar on his trip?

I have emailed the Halifax Police Department this information as I think its a really good match.

Edited to add: The email address, for the Halifax Police is out of date as my email bounced back as "no such receipient". I submitted it through Crimestoppers as that area has an online tip sheet.
 
This unknown person is often referred to as "Oscar" by Anne Arundel County Police. His dental records are being checked against those of a man who went missing from New York state in that same time frame. The missing man is not in any of the Doenetwork or other sites at this time. I was waiting to hear the results of the dental comparisons before posting his case particulars.
 
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29UMMD.jpg
HAltmann.jpg


Helmut Ernst Altmann
Missing since October 30, 1984 from Beverly Hills, Los Angeles County, California.
Classification: Endangered Missing

Vital Statistics

* Date Of Birth: February 3, 1953
* Age at Time of Disappearance: 31 years old
* Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 6'2; 180 lbs
* Distinguishing Characteristics: White male. Brown hair; green eyes. He is from Austria.
* Marks, Scars: Altmann has a protruding lower jaw and a receding hairline. Mark on left buttock.
* Dentals: Available

Circumstances of Disappearance
Helmut Ernst Altmann, an Austrian national, came to the Los Angeles area to invest in California real estate and checked into the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel on October 26, 1984.
Indicating an October 31, 1984 checkout date and a scheduled return to Austria on November 2, 1984, Altmann was last seen in his hotel room on October 30, 1984.
On November 6, 1984, after he was reported missing by his wife, Altmann's hotel room was checked; his clothing,money, passport and return airline ticket to Germany were found in the room.
It is believed that Altmann was driving a rented car and was sightseeing in the Big Sur area of California on October 30, 1984.
Altmann's rented car is still outstanding. It is a 1984 Chevrolet Camaro, white in color with California vehicle license #1JDK196. (vehicle owned by Budget Rent-A-Car)
Foul play is suspected.

***************
Possible match?:
1. There is a strong resemblence between the reconstruction and Helmut.
2. He's one year older, 3" taller & 25lbs heavier.
3. The extensive dental work that John Doe had - Wouldn't it look "European" if it was Helmut?
4 Helmut had a protruding lower jaw - like the reconstruction.
5. Helmut was in Real Estate Investment, and that was the reason he was in California. Could someone seeking an investor flew him in a plane to Maryland? John Doe was found at a construction site.....

A lot of things don't match up, I was reluctant to even consider him, but what does match up is quite startling.
 
The following information comes from the Anne Arundel County Police website.

-------------------------------------------
Victim: "Oscar" Approx. 20- to 30-years of age in 1985, at the time of the murder.
Police Case 1985-055625

On April 23rd, 1985, the decomposed remains of a human body were found during the excavation of the construction site of the Marley Station Mall in Glen Burnie, Md. The body was found in a metal trash container. Found with the body was a ring of keys. The key had a fob attatched with the initial "R" on it.

Examinations revealed the remains were that of a white male in his mid 20’s, approx. 5’8” to 5’11” tall slim build with brown hair. He was wearing a blue and black sweater, slacks and leather shoes.

It was estimated that the victim was deceased for approximately five months.

The image listed in this profile is the result of skull reconstruction produced by the Maryland State Police, Crime Lab Division.

The case is still open and Detectives are seeking information from additional witnesses. Anyone with any information pertaining to his death or related to the identification of witnesses or suspects, please call:

Anne Arundel County Police
Homicide Unit - Cold Case Squad
(410) 222-3456
 
That's interesting Richard about the New York man... please do let us know about the results if you hear of them.

I also found this interesting - from the police site you mentioned:
The key had a fob attatched with the initial "R" on it.
there are photos of the keys, and the ring, on the Doe Network. A "R" is not visible in those photos (but it could be on the other side).
 
PonderingThings said:
That's interesting Richard about the New York man... please do let us know about the results if you hear of them.

I also found this interesting - from the police site you mentioned:
there are photos of the keys, and the ring, on the Doe Network. A "R" is not visible in those photos (but it could be on the other side).
I have been in direct contact with the detective in charge of the "Oscar Doe" case for several months now concerning this possible match. Things take time, and the proper wickets need to be gone through in these kind of cases. The man from New York is a missing military service member, and that requires various procedures/protocol in addition to county and state requirements for identification, family notification, etc. I became involved with this missing person case nine years ago at the request of his family.
 
Thanks MarylandMissing for providing the information that Helmut has been ruled out.
 
Referenced here:

Trying to solve John Doe mysteries
Web site, volunteers aim to help identify victims; 'Cases are always troubling'


BY LAURA BARNHARDT
The Baltimore Sun

November 29, 2002

"John Doe" looked like a guy you might see - and barely notice - almost anywhere: in the checkout line at the grocery store, on the way into the bank or waiting for a red light to change.

He was young and strong, with a wrestler's build. His jaw was rounded, softening his 5-foot-7-inch, 170-pound frame. But no one has been able to say where his life began or where it ended, just where he was found - wrapped in a sheet and pillowcase, set on fire and tossed in a wooded area off Route 272 in North East, not far from Interstate 95 in Cecil County, five years ago

Everything about him - whom and what he loved, how he spent his Sundays, when he was born, what he dreamed of doing - died with him. Though his body was discovered in August 1997, his identity remains a mystery. To Maryland authorities, he is simply John Doe.

But he is not forgotten. He is pictured on an international Web site that has hundreds of volunteers who try to match him and others with photographs of people reported missing. The volunteers and the site are known as The Doe Network.

"Everyone is someone's son or daughter. Everyone deserves the dignity of being identified, of a remembrance," said Maryland State Police homicide investigator Roger Cassell, who specializes in unsolved and seemingly unsolvable cases. "These cases are always troubling. Someone out there is missing this person."

Cassell regularly contributes case information to The Doe Network, hoping that someone will one day help police identify one of the 43 unknown victims discovered in Maryland.

Since being founded in 1999 by a Michigan woman named Jennifer Mara {sic; Marra}, The Doe Network database has grown to include 579 unidentified people, including 11 whose remains were discovered in Maryland.

"There are so many families out there grieving," said Kylen Johnson, who is the network's coordinator for the Maryland, Washington and West Virginia area.

A 32-year-old press technician from Rockville, Johnson became involved with the group after reading newspaper accounts about unidentified people. "I just thought, Something needs to be done."

The network's volunteers include private investigators, detectives, forensic artists and people who have nothing to do with homicide investigations or missing persons cases.

In one instance, a volunteer in California saw a description of a John Doe with a long chin who had been discovered in a trash can in Glen Burnie in 1985. A man with a similar description had disappeared in California just before the body was found.

The information was turned over to authorities, but an Anne Arundel County detective ruled out a match based on height and age.

While this case wasn't solved, it illustrates how the network is able to generate potential leads for investigators, Johnson said.

They network also has recorded successes. A Jane Doe discovered in Southeast Baltimore in 2000, about a year after she had been killed, was identified through Doe Network investigators last year as Brenda Wright, a 46-year-old city woman who lived with her sister.

One of the network's volunteers noticed the woman's case on the Nation's Missing Children Organization and Center for Missing Adults Web site, Johnson said. She had been wearing a shirt with the phrase "Wynn Family Reunion 1997," which Doe Network investigators traced to a family in North Carolina that had given Wright the shirt. The match was confirmed in February by DNA analysis.

"We turn over everything we find to law enforcement authorities," said Johnson, who noted that not all police agencies in Maryland have been willing to submit information about the John and Jane Does who have been discovered in their jurisdictions.

Although Baltimore and Baltimore County police haven't submitted a case, other agencies say it's worth trying.

Cassell said the more people trying to make a connection, the better. "Once you know who the victim is, you can start retracing their steps," he said. "Who the victim is is the first link in figuring out who the suspect is. In most of these cases, the person wasn't killed where they were found. The killer took steps to hide their victim's identity for a reason."

Information on unidentified victims - including renderings by forensic artists based on clay models and skeletal remains - is available in national databases for police use. But Internet sites such as the Doe Network make it possible for others, including victims' families and friends, to make connections between the missing and the unidentified dead, Cassell said.

"As more people become aware of the Doe Network, it will become a more effective tool to law enforcement officials," he said. The Doe Network can be found on the Internet at www.doenetwork.org.

 
I corresponded with the detective in charge of this case. He tells me that the Medical Examiners are currently reviewing dental and medical records of a missing Serviceman for comparison to "Oscar Doe", but have not made a determination as yet.

IF and when an identification of this young man can be made, it will solve only part of two mysteries; that of who the unidentified man is, and what ultimately became of a missing person. It is then that a larger, more foccused investigation will begin.

This is obviously a murder case. I do not know if cause of death was ever determined, but a body found in a metal trash container excludes the possibility of a suicide, an accident, or a natural death. It is most likely that he was killed elsewhere, and transported to the dumping site in the container. The possibility of at least two persons putting him there is a strong one, because of the weight and bulk of a full metal trash can.

The questions with this case - as in most cases like it are the "5 W's":

- Who was he? Who knew him? Who killed him? Who disposed of him?
- What was the manner of death?
- When was he killed?
- Where was he last seen and where was he killed?
- Why was he killed?
 
Richard said:
I corresponded with the detective in charge of this case. He tells me that the Medical Examiners are currently reviewing dental and medical records of a missing Serviceman for comparison to "Oscar Doe", but have not made a determination as yet....
A comparison of available Air Force Dental Records on an Air Force Sergeant, missing since 10 December 1984, has been made with those of "Oscar" Doe.

Difficulties in comparison occurred due to an incorrect date transcription and a reversed copy of a dental X-ray provided by the Air Force. Also, it is possible that older (1982) records were provided, which did not show more recent dental work.

Although one tooth surface matched, some others did not.

At this point, a positive identification cannot be made based on dental records, but the Air Force Sergeant cannot be eliminated as a possible match.
 
GLEN BURNIE MARLEY STATION MALL UNIDENTIFIED (AKA "Oscar Doe")

Case Type: Unidentified

DOB: Between 1955 and 1967 (closer estimate: 1960 -1965)
Age Now: 39 - 51 years of age
Sex: Male
Race: White
Height: Aprox. 5'9" (175 cm)
Weight: Aprox. 130 lbs (59 kg)
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Unknown
Missing Date: late November or early December 1984
Date Found: Apr 23, 1985
Where Found: GLEN BURNIE, MD
Missing Country: United States
Case Number: USMD85055625
Circumstances: On April 23rd 1985, the decomposed remains of a human body were found during the excavation of the construction site of the Marley Station Mall, Glen Burnie, Anne Arundel County, Maryland. The estimated date of death is approximately December 1, 1984.

Examinations revealed the victim to be a White Male between 18-30 years of age, approximate Height: 5' 8" - 5' 11", Slim build with Brown Hair. The victim was wearing a Blue & Black Sweater, Slacks, and Leather Shoes. The victim had a key ring with the letter "R" on it.

The Estimated years of birth are aproximately: 1960-1965, the Height & Weight fields are approximations as well. The image listed in this profile is the result of skull reconstruction produced by the Maryland State Police/Crime Lab Division.

Source
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

Link
http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewChildDetail&caseNum=85055625&orgPrefix=USMD&seqNum=1&caseLang=en_US&searchLang=en_US
 
A comparison of available Air Force Dental Records on an Air Force Sergeant, missing since 10 December 1984, has been made with those of "Oscar" Doe.

Difficulties in comparison occurred due to an incorrect date transcription and a reversed copy of a dental X-ray provided by the Air Force. Also, it is possible that older (1982) records were provided, which did not show more recent dental work.

Although one tooth surface matched, some others did not.

At this point, a positive identification cannot be made based on dental records, but the Air Force Sergeant cannot be eliminated as a possible match.


In an unrelated John Doe Case, The Doenetwork has just reported the following identification:
------------------------
James Harold Thomas
The victim was located on May 18, 1966 in Cross Creek, Alachua County, Florida.

DNA tests determined the remains belonged to James Harold Thomas, 24.

The man's Ford Falcon with a Texas license plate had been found abandoned in the area a few months before the skeleton was located.
Thomas had been listed as an Army deserter. But, when officers first tried to verify if the body belonged to Thomas, dental records obtained from the U.S. Army didn't match.
--------------------------

As in the above example, I think that DNA tests should be conducted on Glen Burnie "Oscar Doe" - and that those results should be compared with DNA from the missing Air Force Sergeant.
 
Hello, I was wondering if this guy was looked into.

Samuel Norris Campbell
http://www.theyaremissed.org/ncma/gallery/ncmaprofile_all.php?A200604457S

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/2203dmmd.html

He fits the general description and is from Maryland. Also, he resembles the reconstruction a lot in my opinion especially the first pic of him smiling. It is also interesting to note that everything was left behind including his car. It states on the poster that Samuel was last seen at his residence in the vicinity of the 5800 block of Grosvenor Ln. in Bethesda, MD I was wondering if there is any chance to match the keys to that address? Any marking on the keys say anything similar to that address? The only thing that has me a little worried this is not a match is the date he was reported missing. He went missing 3-22-1985 which is only a month before the doe was found. Now that could be explained by he was missing for a while but only reported, or discovered missing in March. Let me know what you guys think.
 
I was in Glen Burnie in April of 85, bizzare. No, I didnt do it lol.

I can tell you however that it is likely that this was someone from the army/air force base. Its a classified base and I cannot say anymore then that. But I find it interesting that they could not intify him as the missing airforce person or rule out in the same note. I would think that the dental work could be military as well as dental school. They probably use the same grade material.
 
Medical examiners placed the death date of this unknown man, also known as "Oscar Doe" in early December 1984. That means that the 25th anniversary of his death is approaching.

There are a number of clues which make this case intriguing. His clothing and keys are described, and there is a fairly good description of him.

Because his body was found in a trash can in a remote area, it is most likely that he was murdered - probably elsewhere and then dumped in the area where he was found in April 1985.
 

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