Identified! IN - Henry County, Male UP, 17-24, Found Behind Gas Station, Oct'03 - Daniel Diaz

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JasonFutchLakeCityFL

JasonFutchLakeCityFL

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UNIDENTIFIED HISPANIC MALE
17-24 YEARS OLD
HENRY COUNTY, INDIANA
NCMU1184596c1.jpg


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SUMMARY: On October 2nd, 2003 two police officers found the body of this unidentified man behind an abandoned gas station just north of Knightstown, Indiana. The gas station was located near Indiana State Route 109 and Interstate 70. It was discovered that the man was murdered by a single bullet to the head. An autopsy determined that he had been dead between 24 to 72 hours before discovery.
The victim was a Hispanic or mixed race male that was 5 feet 2 inches and roughly 108 lbs. His jaw was wired shut, assumed to be due to extensive specialized dental work. It was also noted that there was a possibility he had self removed some braces that were in place on his teeth at some point.
He also had One Nevi (mole) 3/4" in size on right upper shoulder and one Nevi of the same size on the lower left of his back. He had brown eyes and a head full of black hair and black facial hair, which was kept up.
The man was wearing brown work pants with UConn warmup sweatpants over them, Blue Sweatshirt with Malone USA on the front and a Duke University Ball Cap. He was also wearing red Reebok shoes. Law Enforcement has not ruled out gang involvement despite lack of tattoos or gang signs.
It is also important to know that he was seen alive in Reynoldsburg, Ohio at a Walmart making a purchase and was seen driving a red car.

As of today, he still remains unidentified, even though there is a really strong chance he could be identified. Post mortem photos are located on NamUs, in which the body was prepared for burial. The Henry County Sheriffs Office took the step of releasing the PM's because of the strong identifying facial features. In the State of Indiana, except in rare circumstances, law enforcement rarely releases PM photos.

IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION ABOUT IDENTITY, CONTACT THE HENRY COUNTY SHERIFFS OFFICE: 765-529-4901 or 765-529-5669
 
LINKS:

NAMUS #6780 *WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES AHEAD*: https://identifyus.org/cases/6780

Doe Network #611UMIN: http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/611umin.html

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children: http://www.missingkids.org/poster/NCMU/1184596/1/screen

Help ID Me Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HelpIDMe/photos/a.830100223684553.1073741890.698376120190298/1267362213291683/?type=3&theater

WRTV Indianapolis Story: https://www.theindychannel.com/news/police-stumped-in-identifying-slain-man

CASE NUMBERS:
NCIC Case Number: U000004735
NamUs Case Number: 6780
NCMEC Case Number: 1184596

 
Tabirey said:
Good looking kid...does seem highly identifiable!

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For real! He had to be from anywhere between Indiana and Ohio. He more than likely had to have a girlfriend or a couple of ex girlfriends nearby. I don’t see anyone matching his description on NamUs or missing persons bulletins in that area, which means he was on his own or no one has reported him missing.
 
Missing from the state the UID was last seen.

Edward Vannatter
https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/6893/91/

EDWARD
Missing: Oct 1st, 2003
State: Ohio
Height: 65
Weight: 160-170 lbs
Age: 38-39 yrs
UID
Found: Oct 2nd, 2003
State: Indian (had been seen in Ohio)
Height: 62 (estimated)
Weight: 108 (estimated)
Age: 18-24


I know some of the info is off, but I see similarities between their pictures...eye shape, nose, chin and ears.. I'm going to see if I can find any SM and MSM for Edward to see if there are any pics with facial hair.


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carbuff said:
He looks like a guy who's missing from Massachusetts. I'm trying to find out if he's still missing...
Click to expand...
Definitely keep us updated! I love seeing your posts!

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carbuff said:
He looks like a guy who's missing from Massachusetts. I'm trying to find out if he's still missing...
Click to expand...

Yes please keep us posted on that. Would like to take a look as well. Has anyone ever seen a case and be like "OMG They are SOOOO identifiable, but why is no one talking?" This is one of those cases for me. A shame no one has posted this case before I did. But there are definitely tons of hot cases happening right now too!
 
What did he buy at Walmart? How did he pay? How long was this before he died? (Google maps says it's a 2-3 hour drive from Reynoldsburg to Knightstown, but I'm not from the area so correct me if I'm wrong.)

He was found at an abandoned gas station. Could it have been drug related? Was he killed there or dumped there? Either way, it makes me think his killer(s) are familiar with the area. It seems like the UID might be from the area of the Walmart. Unless they're planning on getting into trouble, people don't tend to drive that far out of their way to visit Walmart.

I don't want to jump to conclusions but I think the most likely scenario in this case is a drug deal gone bad or some type of execution. I think he either met some person or persons behind the abandoned gas station or somewhere on the road to it. He obviously had money/a wallet and a car when he was at Walmart. His vehicle was not located and there is no mention of a wallet or money on the body. It is most likely he was robbed. Whether he met someone behind the gas station on his own or was forced to drive there, it seems like his killer(s) had intended to kill him from the start. A single bullet to the head is efficient. There is no sense of panic to it. It was intentional and premeditated.

Sorry for rambling. I'm just trying to think out loud and work out what might have happened.
 
UnlicensedPI said:
What did he buy at Walmart? How did he pay? How long was this before he died? (Google maps says it's a 2-3 hour drive from Reynoldsburg to Knightstown, but I'm not from the area so correct me if I'm wrong.)

He was found at an abandoned gas station. Could it have been drug related? Was he killed there or dumped there? Either way, it makes me think his killer(s) are familiar with the area. It seems like the UID might be from the area of the Walmart. Unless they're planning on getting into trouble, people don't tend to drive that far out of their way to visit Walmart.

I don't want to jump to conclusions but I think the most likely scenario in this case is a drug deal gone bad or some type of execution. I think he either met some person or persons behind the abandoned gas station or somewhere on the road to it. He obviously had money/a wallet and a car when he was at Walmart. His vehicle was not located and there is no mention of a wallet or money on the body. It is most likely he was robbed. Whether he met someone behind the gas station on his own or was forced to drive there, it seems like his killer(s) had intended to kill him from the start. A single bullet to the head is efficient. There is no sense of panic to it. It was intentional and premeditated.

Sorry for rambling. I'm just trying to think out loud and work out what might have happened.
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Very good questions posed here. I'm not sure of the complete details on this case other than what has been made available through media and NamUs. I'm certain this could have been a drug-related crime or something to do with gang-violence. Based on what I've read, he has to be from Ohio or somewhere close; especially if he was seen in Reynoldsburg, OH. I don't think they ever found the red car he was driving.

If he used a debit or credit card to make that transaction in Reynoldsburg, there has to be some kind of a footprint, especially considering the fact that most surveillance videos are timestamped. If he used cash, then there is no footprint and no chance of identifying him that way or depending how well the CTV monitors recorded video quality, no chance of knowing what he bought. But I believe he was seen there about a few days before his death.

I am trying to see if I can obtain records of this case from the PD in that area; however the unfortunate thing is that most PDs have non-disclosure agreements; which mean no one in the public can have access to the files until they close the case.

In any case, I hope to get to the bottom of this case soon.
 
On a side note, other than the news article I posted, I have not found ANY MSM or News articles pertaining to this case. My best guess is that we will probably only find resources on this case in regards to media on the local microfilms that local newspapers may have.
 
JasonFutchLakeCityFL said:
His jaw was wired shut, assumed to be due to extensive specialized dental work. It was also noted that there was a possibility he had self removed some braces that were in place on his teeth at some point.
Click to expand...

He removed the braces himself?! Wouldn't that be horribly painful? Also, what sort of specialized dental work involves wiring a jaw shut? People I've met that have had to have that were either in bad accidents or beat up.
 
Onfortuneswheel said:
He removed the braces himself?! Wouldn't that be horribly painful? Also, what sort of specialized dental work involves wiring a jaw shut? People I've met that have had to have that were either in bad accidents or beat up.
Click to expand...

Definitely something I wondered about. Either he had high pain tolerance or something else happened that caused him to remove his braces. As for the jaw wired shut, I’m not really sure.
 
Onfortuneswheel said:
He removed the braces himself?! Wouldn't that be horribly painful? Also, what sort of specialized dental work involves wiring a jaw shut? People I've met that have had to have that were either in bad accidents or beat up.
Click to expand...
Surgery to correct TMJ syndrome would be one possibility. That's usually preceded by or combined with braces.

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JasonFutchLakeCityFL said:
https://www.wthr.com/article/henry-county-murder-mystery

Found another article. Been using tons of combinations in google search just to find something. Definitely not finding much on this case, but this article does help.
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"Through statements and stuff we substantuated their stories and stuff and everything looks fine."
How convincing.

Something is definitely off about this case. He was found by undercover officers who had to be cleared. Somehow he had been seen at the Walmart hours away two days before his death. He had been dead less than 24 hours - had he changed his clothes between Walmart and the gas station? Why is his height so far off in those articles? Listed as 5'2 in some sources and 5'8 in others. Something just isn't lining up here.​
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Hey everyone,

So I communicated Det. Capt. Manning this morning in response to a request for information on John Doe. He said that everything online, including Websleuths (which he did mention), was very accurate and that they did abide by a non-disclosure agreement with the open case.
I appreciated his response to the email and hopefully he can be of assistance at some point soon!
At this time I encourage sleuthers to take this one step further. In the past with Lake City John Doe, we did posts on Craigslist and Reddit about the case. I’d encourage people to do the same and give this case the much needed attention that it more than likely will need so someone can come forward with an identity.
Otherwise, let’s continue to sift through NamUs and Doe Network and hope that something can come of it!
 
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