AZ AZ - Tuscon, WhtMale 2473UMAZ UP7207, 17-18, buried in desert, Apr'88

[Jake479]

I couldn't find a thread for this John Doe.

Have you seen this child? John Doe1988
The Doe Network: 2473UMAZ
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

 

[victoriarobinson642]

The reconstruction shows a crooked nose but I can't find any information on that. I wonder if it's purposeful.

 

[YaYa_521]

It's odd that NamUs profile says his torso wasn't recovered but on Doe profile it mentions he's got an extra rib.

 

[YaYa_521]

Exclusions

MP5790 Marc Allen 03/29/1986 Polk IA
MP21646 Arden Bogart, Jr. 02/11/1988 Santa Fe NM
MP7926 Scott Hilbert 03/13/1988 Clermont OH
MP4929 Lorne Landeen 01/20/1986 Pima AZ
MP23553 Charles Melendez 09/01/1982 Harris TX
MP4544 Daniel Naylor 10/05/1982 Alameda CA

 

[MadMcGoo]

Date of Discovery: April 5, 1988
Location of Discovery: Tucson, Pima County, Arizona
Estimated Date of Death: 10-16 months prior
State of Remains: Not recognizable - Near complete or complete skeleton
Cause of Death: Unknown

Estimated Age: 17-18 years old
Race: White
Gender: Male
Height: 5'7" to 5'11"
Weight: Unknown
Hair Color: Brown, up to 3 inches long.
Eye Color: Unknown

Distinguishing Marks/Features: An extra left cervical rib which may have caused him to experience pinched nerve symptoms.

Clothing: Levi 701 pants (30/32) with the pant legs rolled up into cuffs.
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown

Dentals: Available.
Fingerprints: Not available.
DNA: Available.

Case History: The victim's remains were found partially buried in a remote desert wash south of Valencia road near Ryan Airfield in Tucson.

 

[MadMcGoo]

Cervical rib - Wikipedia

I was born with bilateral cervical ribs. They’re not located where one might think. They’re up towards your collar bone area. A doctor mentioned them to me when I had unrelated X-ray taken in my late teens, but I wouldn’t have known about them otherwise. It wasn’t until about 15 years later (and a physically demanding career)that I started showing symptoms of thoracic outlet syndrome which was determined to be caused by the extra ribs. Long story short, it required surgery that ended up disabling me and my symptoms are now worse than before.

Given this guys age I’d imagine he was asymtamatic for the most part. They would have had to have found at least part of his torso though in order to know he had a cervical rib!

 

[Snow_972]

I swear the Donald Emerson Curtiss case comes close with so many of the details (age, height, race, hair color, Tucson, Arizona, Pima County) they even look really similar to me. The big problems though are that Donald's year missing and John Doe's year found are so far apart and Donald was lost in the mountains while John Doe was found in a remote desert.

 

[Hammy23]

I couldn't find a thread for this John Doe.

Have you seen this child? John Doe1988
The Doe Network: 2473UMAZ
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

I guess I'm late to the discussion, but I can't get this case out of my mind. I've been trying to look at what was going on in Tuscon in the late 80s to get some sort of starting point. I've looked at the area the body was found. I don't really know where to look as there is little info for the case. Was he a run away? A male escort? Abducted? What was that area like in the late 80s? I guess I'll keep looking.

 

[ntt1]

Three Points John Doe 1988 | DNA Doe Project

dnadoeproject.org

 

[ipa]

Sad but it seems like most of the time uncertain race + Pima County usually means migrant dying on the way in

 

[MadMcGoo]

I’m so glad DDP has this young man’s case!

 

[ipa]

I’m so glad DDP has this young man’s case!

The work they do is incredible!

 

[John/Jane Doe]

Three Points John Doe 1988 | DNA Doe Project

dnadoeproject.org

 

[sorcoy14]

Six exclusions.

 

[BrownBear]

Six exclusions. View attachment 397704

1 New Exclusion
MP7314 Michael Reese 06/03/1985 Morgan UT

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Bumping case up. I don't think it's likely he's a migrant. Victim of foul play? Perhaps the perpetrator is familiar with that air-field or area...

Case says it's still not fully-funded...

Three Points John Doe 1988 | DNA Doe Project

dnadoeproject.org

 

[Melt71]

Three Points John Doe has a new exclusion was added for Joseph Helt, bringing the case up to 8 exclusions.

 

[Sherlock1842]

Bumping case up. I don't think it's likely he's a migrant. Victim of foul play? Perhaps the perpetrator is familiar with that air-field or area...

Case says it's still not fully-funded...

Three Points John Doe 1988 | DNA Doe Project

dnadoeproject.org

DNA Doe says it’s “pre-funding” what does that mean? Are they taking donations now?

 

[lightofmine99]

One new exclusion:

Robert Fritz (MP6085) - Missing from Wisconsin since 1983.

 

[djanga]

I can see that his page on the DDP website was last updated on March 6, 2025, but I can’t see anything new and he is still in Pre-Funding stage