FL FL - North Port, Wht/Multiple Male, UP60596, 30-50, Muscular build, 1 January 1996

Joined
Sep 22, 2015
Messages
1,664
Reaction score
7,907
Website
www.websleuths.com
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Namus Case: #UP60596
Created: October 3, 2019
ME/C Case Number: 96-002-SA-004

No image available

White/ Multiple Male
Age: 30-50
Height: 6' 1" (measured)
Weight: Unknown
Hair: Brown
Body hair description: There are relatively short, appearing brown to pale brown, hairs on the chest, arms, and legs with some variability in the length of the hair. Consistent with Caucasian hair.
Eyes: Unknown

Estimate year of death: 1995
Estimated PMI: 3 months

Location Found Map
Heavily wooded area near Plamendon Street, North Port, Florida 34291
Sarasota County, FL

Circumstances of Recovery:
On January 1, 1996, a dog brought a human skull to its owner and a search of the area located a skeleton without a skull on January 2, 1996. The human remains consisted of a near complete skeleton with skin still present on a few areas, specifically, the right hand and chest. No clothing or personal items were located at the scene. The recovery site was a remote wooded area.

Further examination of the skeleton revealed the following: estimated age of late 30s to early 40s, skeleton was 73.5 inches (6'1" - 6'2") in height, the skull showed a well healed fracture to the left nasal bone, the victim would have been extremely muscular and his skull was unusually large and heavy (possible indicator of Scandinavian or Northern US (Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, etc.) ancestry per Forensic Odontology exam), victim had brown hair and mustache, and his teeth were in an overall bad condition. He had multiple cavities and no evidence of any dental restorations.

Victim is suspected to have been a transient and may have struggled with alcohol and/or drug addiction.

Other distinctive features:
Victim would have been extremely muscular.
Well healed fracture, left nasal bone.


North Port Police Department, Agency Case Number: 1996-01-0021
District 12 Medical Examiners Office
 
Could that victim be John Podniestrzanski? He was missing in March 1995, have brown hair & mustache, early 30's, about 6' tall & 200 LBS, he looked strong face feature & likely have muscular frame, and North Port isn't too far from Clearwater (missing). See the link from below. What does you think of that match?

1264DMFL - John C. Podniestrzanski
 
Could that victim be John Podniestrzanski? He was missing in March 1995, have brown hair & mustache, early 30's, about 6' tall & 200 LBS, he looked strong face feature & likely have muscular frame, and North Port isn't too far from Clearwater (missing). See the link from below. What does you think of that match?

1264DMFL - John C. Podniestrzanski
I think his dealings with LE would have landed him in CODIS. I'm thinking if this was him, they would be able to match DNA at this point. Maybe not though. I don't see any mention of DNA on the remains.

In 1995, that area of North Port was extremely undeveloped. General Development Corp. (GDC) went in and put in roads, well, a notch above a dirt road, with no proper under lament and the pavement crumbled. No street signs so you could get turned around quite easily. GDC finally went bankrupt and the property became Sarasota County and the City of North Port's problem. Even now, decades later, it is not highly populated. There are motorbike trails, ATV trails, mud holes, etc to play around in. All unofficial of course.

Anyway, I say all this because this is not where the homeless live. There are no services, no public transportation, nothing to keep the homeless functioning. The homeless, especially during the recession, were living on vacant property in town. They can hop on a county bus, walk to a fast food restaurant, grocery store, etc. They are not going to live 3 miles out in the woods. This body was dumped.
 
Last edited:
@PayrollNerd Thanks for the great information.

I'll assume LE has already run through the MP list on NamUs, and any potentials have already been ruled out. And that since this body was found in 1996, any DNA would've been extracted years ago.

Since this case doesn't have any recreation of the facial features, as of yet, I'll hold off on suggesting anyone.

PS... Daniel Conahan - Wikipedia

From serial killer Daniel Conahan's (Hog Trail Murders) Wikipedia page:

"On January 1, 1996, a North Port family's dog brought home a male human skull. Police eventually pieced together much of a skeleton and determined that the genitalia had been cut out, similar to the 1994 victim. The North Port skeleton was also never identified."

Websleuths link to still unidentified victims of Daniel Conahan:
FL - FL - 'Fort Myers 8' (5 still UID) WhtMales Buried in Woods, Mar'07
 
Last edited:
@PayrollNerd Thanks for the great information.

I'll assume LE has already run through the MP list on NamUs, and any potentials have already been ruled out. And that since this body was found in 1996, any DNA would've been extracted years ago.

Since this case doesn't have any recreation of the facial features, as of yet, I'll hold off on suggesting anyone.

PS... Daniel Conahan - Wikipedia

From serial killer Daniel Conahan's (Hog Trail Murders) Wikipedia page:

"On January 1, 1996, a North Port family's dog brought home a male human skull. Police eventually pieced together much of a skeleton and determined that the genitalia had been cut out, similar to the 1994 victim. The North Port skeleton was also never identified."

Websleuths link to still unidentified victims of Daniel Conahan:
FL - FL - 'Fort Myers 8' (5 still UID) WhtMales Buried in Woods, Mar'07
I actually think this guy was one of Daniel Conahan's victims too. The distance between where the other victims were found further south in Charlotte County, and this guy on Plamendon Street in North Port (Sarasota County red dot on map) is minimal. The two counties meet along a huge, deep canal parallel to Hillsborough Blvd (highlighted in yellow on map). There are now a number of cross ways on this canal between the counties, whereas years ago, there were only a few.

I suspect these two met up in the woods or drove there together. The victim was left there or dumped there. As a Navy vet, Daniel Conahan more than likely had the financial means for a vehicle. Once this victim is identified, then we'll know if he was actually from North Port or somewhere in Charlotte County.

I have no doubt what we see now as motorbike trails, ATV trails, etc were the original cattle and hog trails. People still hunt wild hogs in the area. There's a lot of good ol' boys still in the area, families owning land for generations, not much tolerance for people who are of different sexual orientation. I am not blatantly labeling everyone intolerant but it's still lingering under the surface. Case in point - Gage Jackson's murder (see the thread on here).

Map of North Port, FL
upload_2019-10-4_14-39-20.png
 

Attachments

  • upload_2019-10-4_14-36-24.png
    upload_2019-10-4_14-36-24.png
    252.6 KB · Views: 4
I actually think this guy was one of Daniel Conahan's victims too. The distance between where the other victims were found further south in Charlotte County, and this guy on Plamendon Street in North Port (Sarasota County red dot on map) is minimal. The two counties meet along a huge, deep canal parallel to Hillsborough Blvd (highlighted in yellow on map). There are now a number of cross ways on this canal between the counties, whereas years ago, there were only a few.

I suspect these two met up in the woods or drove there together. The victim was left there or dumped there. As a Navy vet, Daniel Conahan more than likely had the financial means for a vehicle. Once this victim is identified, then we'll know if he was actually from North Port or somewhere in Charlotte County.

I have no doubt what we see now as motorbike trails, ATV trails, etc were the original cattle and hog trails. People still hunt wild hogs in the area. There's a lot of good ol' boys still in the area, families owning land for generations, not much tolerance for people who are of different sexual orientation. I am not blatantly labeling everyone intolerant but it's still lingering under the surface. Case in point - Gage Jackson's murder (see the thread on here).

Map of North Port, FL
View attachment 207670

I'm assuming a lot of these men were probably gay for pay. Nude pictures is easy money for a drifter or drug addict.

There's several areas in Sarasota County historically known for being pick up areas for gay quickies. The nearest one, I can think of, to the location of where this body was found, is Caspersen Beach in Venice.

Conahan had a "type" of victim. They had sandy or blonde hair, muscular bodies and were around the late 20's to early 30's.
 
I'm assuming a lot of these men were probably gay for pay. Nude pictures is easy money for a drifter or drug addict.

There's several areas in Sarasota County historically known for being pick up areas for gay quickies. The nearest one, I can think of, to the location of where this body was found, is Caspersen Beach in Venice.

Conahan had a "type" of victim. They had sandy or blonde hair, muscular bodies and were around the late 20's to early 30's.
Yup, and Caspersen Beach is a bit remote, hidden behind the Venice Airport. I have to wonder if the perp chose to branch out to the north to avoid detection. After he dumped 8 bodies in one general area, I wonder if he was spooked by LE, or if the gay community heard rumors thus he lost his pool of prospects. Naples wasn't that populated at the time but Sarasota County was booming. The wealthy were coming in droves. St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Tampa - all within an hours drive. This victim could have been from anywhere though, if he was on vacation.
 

Members online

Online statistics

Members online
73
Guests online
2,748
Total visitors
2,821

Forum statistics

Threads
590,011
Messages
17,928,914
Members
228,037
Latest member
shmoozie
Back
Top