Identified! PA - Chester Co., WhtMale 1280UMPA, 20-30, Nov'68 - Robert Corriveau

tamar

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Please note: I included a pic of a marine in uniform (standing beside jeep) but he is not related to case, I just wanted to show full uniform)


The Doe Network:
Case File 1280UMPA
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1280umpa.html

Unidentified White Male

•The victim was discovered on November 18, 1968 near Downingtown, Chester County, Pennsylvania
•Estimated Date of Death: 12-24 hours prior
•Cause of Death: Single stab wound to the chest
•State of Remains: Recognizable Face

Vital Statistics
•Estimated age: 20-30 years old
•Approximate Height and Weight: 5'6"; 160 lbs.
•Distinguishing Characteristics: Dark brown hair; green or hazel eyes.
•Tattoos: On the right upper arm, a bulldog wearing a helmet with the letters USMC underneath. On the left forearm was a "bird in flight".
•Clothing: Rust colored sweater, brown plaid pants, brown shoes with buckles. He was covered with a dark blue navy pea jacket.
•DNA: Not Available
•Fingerprints: Available

Case History
On Monday, November 18, 1968, at 10:55 a.m., a Pennsylvania State Trooper spotted a man in a semi sitting position on the side of the highway, about a mile east of the Downingtown interchange. The trooper stopped to check on the man and found that he was dead.
There was no identification and no signs of a struggle.
The FBI studied fingerprints in an effort to identify him, but he remains unidentified.
Given the "bulldog" tattoo on the man's right upper arm, it is likely that he had once served in the Marines
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________


Possible Match:

The Doe Network:
Case File 390DMWV
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/390dmwv.html

James Elwood Brady
Missing since September 1, 1965 from Logan, Logan County, West Virginia.
Classification: Missing

Vital Statistics
Date Of Birth: January 17, 1930
Age at Time of Disappearance: 25 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'7", 145 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: White male. Brown hair; grey eyes.


Circumstances of Disappearance
Brady was last seen boarding a Trailways Bus in Logan, Logan County, West Virginia and Bluefield, Mercer County, Virginia on September 1, 1965.
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
West Virginia State Police
304-746-2100
E-Mail

NCIC Number:
M-650880574
Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.

Source Information:
West Virginia State Police

JBrady.jpg

a-bartlett-marine-uniform.jpg
 

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I would say it's a match. The only difference I note is that the eyebrows in his military pic appear to be thicker, but it could just be the angle. Otherwise, I would say it's him. Or a relative.
 
I've just noticed a discrepancy in age/dob on Doenetwork-- Charley Project lists his age at time of disappearance as 35... Oi!

If he was 35, I suppose the age range is still close enough to warrant submission.
 
here's one more
 

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I think that they look identical. This would be amazing if it were not the same person. Good work. I hope that this is the man!!
 
Good job. I hope it is a match. It sure does look like the same person to me.
 
imo It looks like James Elwood Brady is going home. Good eye & heart, tamar!
 
Looks very close to me as well! Please let us know how this turns out Tamar and thank you for your time and effort in trying to bring some of UID's home!
 
I've just noticed a discrepancy in age/dob on Doenetwork-- Charley Project lists his age at time of disappearance as 35... Oi!

If he was 35, I suppose the age range is still close enough to warrant submission.

Meaghan at Charley Project makes that 10-year age error quite frequently. I just mentioned that a few days ago, and during the last week, she did it twice again on new casefiles. Since I have all 8000+ of her casefiles on a spreadsheet, I was able to catch all of those errors and notify her. But either I left this one off the list, or she didn't correct it. I am typing this message from my iPhone and don't have the list with me to be sure.

On your possible match - great job, Tamar!!! It looks good to me.
 
Looks great to me!!!!! Thank you very much for working it out!!!!
 
Carl,

Regarding DOB: the year is listed on both sites as 1930. Looks like Meagahn is better at math than Doenetwork is. :]

Thanks for the replies everyone, I submitted this and heard back this morning from a Penn Trooper, he said Brady has been compared and is not a match (oddly enough there is another James Brady missing since 1967 out of SK). I asked how the comparison was disounted (fingerprints DNA or dentals) but haven't heard back yet. It looks like this UID was exhumed (or is in the process of being exhumed) for DNA testing recently.

I have seen many mistakes made in dental and even fingerprint identifier comparisons-- human error is a vile underminer n'est-ce pas?

And this one hit me so strongly as a match... maybe when DNA is complete this young, handsome Marine will finally find his way home.
 
Carl,

Regarding DOB: the year is listed on both sites as 1930. Looks like Meagahn is better at math than Doenetwork is. :]

Thanks for the replies everyone, I submitted this and heard back this morning from a Penn Trooper, he said Brady has been compared and is not a match (oddly enough there is another James Brady missing since 1967 out of SK). I asked how the comparison was disounted (fingerprints DNA or dentals) but haven't heard back yet. It looks like this UID was exhumed (or is in the process of being exhumed) for DNA testing recently.

I have seen many mistakes made in dental and even fingerprint identifier comparisons-- human error is a vile underminer n'est-ce pas?

And this one hit me so strongly as a match... maybe when DNA is complete this young, handsome Marine will finally find his way home.

Go with your gut, tamar.....or in this case a number of guts. And please post what disqualified a match, hope it wasn't something as simple as the tattoos not being listed on James military records.
 
Carl,

Regarding DOB: the year is listed on both sites as 1930. Looks like Meagahn is better at math than Doenetwork is. :]

Yes, now that I am home and can see the list, I see that Meaghan got it right on this one. This was not one of the cases on which she made that error.
 
Unidentified White Male
Found November 18, 1968 near Downingtown, Chester County, Pennsylvania


Vital Statistics

Estimated Age: 20-30 years old
Estimated height: 5'6"
Estimated weight: 160 lbs
Hair Color: dark brown
Eye Color: green or hazel
Tattoos: On the right upper arm, a bulldog wearing a helmet with the letters USMC underneath. On the left forearm was a "bird in flight", possibly a swallow.
Clothing: Rust colored sweater, brown houndstooth-check pants, brown shoes with buckles. He was covered with a dark blue navy peacoat.
Fingerprints: Available
Distinguishing Characteristics: a healed bullet wound
Estimated Time of Death: about 12 hours prior to being found, but no longer than 24 hours.
Cause of death: stabbed once "through the heart" with a narrow round object that penetrated about four inches.
DNA: unavailable at this time, however, the man was exhumed from his grave in Quaker Cemetery near Kennett Square and samples have been taken to start the DNA process.

Case Details

On Monday, November 18, 1968, at 10:55 a.m., a Pennsylvania State Trooper, while on a routine Turnpike patrol, spotted a man in a semi-sitting position on the side of the highway, about a mile east of the Downingtown interchange. The trooper stopped to check on the man and found that he was dead.

There was no identification on the fully-clothed body and no signs of a struggle.

The FBI studied fingerprints in an effort to identify him, but he remains unidentified. Given the "bulldog" tattoo on the man's right upper arm, it is likely that he had once served in the Marines.

If you have any information about this case, please contact:

Pennsylvania State Police
Troop J - Avondale
Tpr Christopher Winesburg or Cpl Patrick Quiqley
Phone: 610-268-2022
Fax: 610-268-3845


Sources
Pennsylvania State Police
NewspaperArchive.com
Lebanon Daily News
Simpson's Leader Times
Daily News (Huntingdon & Mount Union)
Philadelphia Inquirer
Pennsylvania Missing Persons

LINK (note contains morgue photos)

http://www.pennsylvaniamissing.com/1280umpa11181968.html
 
The swallow tattoo is a staple of Naval tradition, originating with the British Navy and later adopted by members of the US Navy. According to legend, the swallow was the first land bird spotted by returning ships; a swallow tattoo represents lengthy sea voyages, each tattoo indicating at least 5,000 nautical miles travelled.

Strange that, if this person were a member of the US military, his prints weren't on file.
 
A narrow, round object penetrating 4 inches... An ice pick?
 
Could have been a screwdriver, I'm thinking. Or an awl used for putting holes in leather like belts.

Fingerprint records would have been paper back then, so their task would have been significant given that it was wartime and the draft was on. I hope they're finally able to identify him.
 
"Semi-sitting position" seems an odd description. I can only assume that this was the position in which he died, as there was no sign of a struggle and he was "covered" with a pea coat (not wearing it). Although, I suppose he could have been dumped at the location and the coat placed over him.
 
This young man was very likely a US military Veteran - either a Marine or a Sailor who had been wounded in the VietNam War. He appears to be quite young. Although the file write-up states his age between 20 and 30, I think it is likely in his early 20's.

The healed bullet wound might indicate that he had been in a Naval Hospital, perhaps Bethesda, Portsmouth, or Balboa Naval Hospitals, as those were the main ones. I wonder if x-rays were taken of the wound? If a bone had been broken, perhaps it could be compared with x-rays taken of wounded servicemen who were treated at one of the above hospitals.

His haircut is within 1968 regulations for the Navy, but a bit long for Marine Corps standards. He may have been recently discharged and on his way home when he was murdered.

The Navy Pea Coat could indicate that he was a Navy man, although it is also possible that he was a Marine who purchased the coat at a Navy exchange or uniform shop - or that he was borrowing the coat from a friend for the cold weather trip he was on. Marines do not and did not wear Pea Coats as part of their uniform.

The USMC tattoo means either that he was a Marine or possibly that he was a Navy Medical Corpsman who had served with the Marines in combat. US Navy Corpsmen are the "medics" for the Marine Corps.

If he was still on active duty when he died, he would be carried on the books today as a "deserter", since he was never identified. If he had been discharged, the Navy or Marine Corps would not have been looking for him. Either way, his records should be on file at the St. Louis Military Personnel Records Center.

Only Officers had their fingerprints on file in 1968. Enlisted men might be fingerprinted for work in high security jobs, but those fingerprint cards would not necessarily be in their military personnel records.

The 4 inch deep puncture wound that killed him could have come from an icepick or screwdriver. It could also have come from a Marlin Spike. That is a round pointed spike used by sailors to work ropes and untie knots. Often a Marlinspike is attatched to a sailor's folder knife, and they are usually 3 to 4 inches in length, and about a quarter inch in diameter.

It is also possible that he was killed with a "shiv" made from a sharpened nail. These are often found in prisons and carried by convicts.

A spike type bayonet could also have been the weapon, as could a sharpened pencil.

I wonder if this young man might have been traveling home for the Thanksgiving holiday. He was dressed nicely and well groomed. Could he have been hitch hiking? Perhaps he was driving and picked up a hitch hiker.

He never made it home.
 

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