ID ID - Nez Perce Co., WhtMale 229UMID, 18-99, in Snake River, Jun'82

[Mel1024]

I just got done speaking with Dave Wallace of the Polk County Sheriff's office. He browsed over their casefile summary on Gregory Mitchell, and said that their investigative efforts led them to suspect that he and his accomplice were probably murdered in the Florida Panhandle area, and that he was involved in the drug trade.

He also said that his DNA and dentals have been entered in CODIS and NCIC since the mid-80's. I told him that from my recollection, there was no DNA on the decedent, so there would be no CODIS hit regardless of whether it was him or not. I wasn't sure if the decedent's dentals were in NCIC, but he said if they were, there would have been a NCIC hit on dentals.

He did not have any vital stats info on his summary sheet to verify which height and weight info was correct.

As for photos, they have none in the case file. I said that I checked with the Winter Haven High School Library and he wasn't in the yearbooks. He said that this doesn't surprise him, as he was a known juvenile delinquent from a young age, and probably didn't go to school. (you're right, carbuff!!).

All in all, if their investigative info is correct, this is probably not our guy. But I have no way of knowing how reliable their info is that leads them to believe that he and David Rees were probably murdered in the Florida panhandle.

If Sgt. Hildebrand wants to look further into this though to be 100% certain, they can contact Dave Wallace of the Polk County Sheriff's office. (863) 298-6200 x 1233.

 

[ctaylor]

A recent update...

http://www.krem.com/news/crime/North-Idaho-1982-cold-case-re-opened-136698573.html

North Idaho 1982 cold case re-opened

by KREM.com

Posted on January 4, 2012 at 3:06 PM

Updated Wednesday, Jan 4 at 3:24 PM

NEZ PERCE, Idaho-- Nez Perce County Sheriff’s Office has re-opened a cold homicide case from 1982.

On July 26, 1982 a deceased male was discovered on the shore of the Snake River approximately 25 miles from Lewiston. The cause of death was found to be homicide.

Efforts to identify this subject were not successful at the time and the male was interred in Lewiston as a John Doe.

....

And another update - http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/92ec56e250d04d869c3c8941ec87e921/ID--Body-Exhumed-Cold-Case/

N. Idaho officials dig up remains in decades old grave in effort to identify man shot in 1982

SANDRA L. LEE The Lewiston Tribune
First Posted: January 13, 2012 - 1:03 pm
Last Updated: January 13, 2012 - 1:03 pm

LEWISTON, Idaho — Four small yellow flags were the only indication of what lay below the frozen grass at Normal Hill Cemetery.

Using a square-bladed shovel, Greg Morton of Wilbert Precast quickly cut the sod into strips, setting it neatly to one side. With plywood protecting the grass, the bucket on a front-end loader, exactly the width of a grave, carved a hole the length and width of the concrete vault buried several feet down.

It was a sizable crowd that gathered to watch the grave of an unknown young man being reopened Wednesday morning: Nez Perce County deputies who obtained the $2,000 grant that will pay for the costs associated with exhumation, city police officers, the county coroner and his deputy, the grave diggers, a mortician and the news media.

.....

 

[carbuff]

Is this young man's DNA available in CODIS yet? I have somebody in mind, but if the DNA's been submitted, it's a rejection by default.

 

[CarlK90245]

This guy looks like a good possible, although there is no photo available.

Gregory Robert Mitchell
https://www.findthemissing.org/cases/5650/3

Note: NamUs incorrectly lists his DLC as Nov 16, 1965. That is probably his DOB. His DLC is indicated in the description as Nov 16, 1981.

His description indicates a scar on his right or left shinbone.
He is the right height.
He has shoulder-length brown hair.

Looks like it's worth a look to me, despite that he is missing from Florida.

I am trying to find a photo of Gregory R Mitchell.

I checked Classmates.com and the only Winter Haven HS yearbook they have is the 1987 edition - No help here.

I am trying to get ahold of the Winter Haven HS school library to see if they can e-mail me a photo of GR Mitchell from the 1980 or 1981 yearbook (if he can be found in one of those books). Nobody answered the phone. I'll try again later.

I called the Winter Haven School Library to see what they found on Gregory Mitchell.

The librarian indicated that they went through the yearbooks from 79 to 81, and found nobody by that name. They found a couple of females with the last name Mitchell, but no males.

I asked if there were any other high schools in the area that would be attended by a resident of Winter Haven, and they said not back then.

That's strange that a 16-year old boy lived in Winter Haven, but apparently was not enrolled in the local high school. Perhaps he went either to a private school in a different city, or was home-schooled. Or maybe he just moved into town that year.

Meaghan at Charley Project somehow got ahold of a photo of Gregory Mitchell.

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/m/mitchell_gregory.html

He appears to be much younger than 16 in this photo, but you can imagine what he would look like a few years older.

I wonder if they were ever able to rule him out per this John Doe. His NamUs casefile indicates "sandy brown" hair, but it looks darker than sandy brown here.

Considering the resemblance, and that they both have scars on their ankle, I'd like to see a positive rule-out on this one if there isn't already.

 

[carbuff]

He's certainly a strong candidate.

 

[ctaylor]

A new article and update on this case...

http://www.klewtv.com/news/local/cold-case-resumes-213336101.html

Recently elected N.P. County sheriff resumes cold case from 1982
By Sophie Miraglio Published: Jun 27, 2013 at 10:23 AM PDT

LEWISTON, ID - Thirty-one years ago Wednesday, a body of a young man was found in the river 25 miles south of Lewiston.

Reporter Sophia Miraglio discovers why this cold case is starting to warm up again, and how the recently-elected Nez Perce County Sheriff is bringing a new perspective to the case.

It was 1982, a time when the average house cost $80,000. 'Physical' by Olivia Newton-John topped the charts, and DNA testing was unheard of. It was also the year a Nez Perce County cold case was born.

...

 

[carbuff]

NPCSheriff, are you still around? Do you have any more information that can be shared about this part of the interview with Sheriff Rodriguez? He sounds like the DNA results indicated an unusual ancestry. Would be helpful to know which part of outside the US we should look in.

"We had a grant that we were going to send a piece of the body, which happened to be a femur for a DNA sample," said Rodriguez.

Despite an unknown identification, the descent of the individual is wielding many clues.

"It kind of gives you that it was a foreign person that was here working in the area," said Rodriguez.

Which would make sense on why the case has gone cold for so many years.

"My belief on the reason why we haven't had anyone come forward is that I believe this was a person that wasn't from the United States," said Rodriguez.

(from http://www.klewtv.com/news/local/cold-case-resumes-213336101.html)

 

[CarlK90245]

Charley Project has a new listing for a teenaged male missing in 1981 who doesn't appear anywhere else.

Donald Ferry Shafer

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/s/shafer_donald.html

He seems a reasonable possible for this John Doe, though he might be a year or two too young.

His height is about right, and he resembles the recon, though his hair might be too light in color. I remember the LE on this case saying that his hair was very dark.

He has a connection to that area (Not Idaho, but Wyoming and Montana, which is close to Idaho.

 

[vermontaigne]

Now NamUs is listing this UID as having had red/auburn hair and brown eyes.

 

[madamehdivision]

Now NamUs is listing this UID as having had red/auburn hair and brown eyes.

Well, thats clearly incorrect. The morgue photo of the UIDs hair (posted above) shows it is JET BLACK. Unless it was dyed shortly before death, and there is simply no indication of that.

Why the obvious discrepancy, I wonder?

 

[Ambercat]

Speaking of men who have scars on their ankles and are about 71" tall, I have been watching the profile of Robert Pedicini on NamUs as a possible match for another UID for a long time hoping that they will post a photo of him. He was 19 years old when he was last seen in Amityville, NY on November 16, 1978. Robert's hair is listed as being brown, without a photo, I have no idea what shade. He sounds like he might be consistent with this UID, also. If anyone could find a photograph of him, I would really appreciate it.

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/22066/29

 

[OkieGranny]

http://www.klewtv.com/news/local/Cold-case-from-32-years-ago-continues-with-body-found-south-of-Lewiston-264973691.html

The year was 1982, the place was right where the Grand Ronde comes into the Snake... The case has provided very little clues, and has been opened and closed multiple times. Nez Perce County Sheriff Joe Rodriguez believes he knows why.

"Due to the clothing description, some of the people working in the area upstream from where he was located," said Rodriguez. "I think it's outside the United States honestly."

With time and distance both working against the case, Rodriguez hopes to create a task force that would span across the decades. "People that may have worked in the area, people that may have been foreigners here, and basically just trying to pick everybody's brain and resources that they have," said Rodriguez.

 

[Carpooler]

Thanks for following up on this case. My part of Idaho is 10 hours away, but several of my kids attended Univ of Idaho, which is north of Lewiston.
Sad that all of these years no one has claimed this teenager.

 

[carbuff]

Updated information by the Nez Perce County Sheriff's Office

13-20 years old
Black hair
Contact is the Nez Perce County Sheriff's Office, not the Lewiston Police Department.
Body is not in an unmarked grave. The site has been known and has a marker. The Sheriff's Office and Coroner are working on exhumation for DNA purposes.

Victim could have been from anywhere in the United States or elsewhere. This is a wild and scenic river and hosts thousands of tourists and sightseers. Several missing individuals from Idaho/Washington do match the general description; however, they have been ruled out.

Yes, it is the same river the young woman was found, but our victim was much farther upstream; at least river 30 miles.

Any information is appreciated by the Nez Perce County Sheriff's Office. Contact is 208-799-3131 (Dispatch) or investigator@co.nezperce.id.us.

The Namus profile still lists the same erroneous information and hasn't been updated since 2015.

The only ruleout listed is Sean Phelan.

 

[carbuff]

Updated link:

Two ruleouts listed: Sean Phelan and Gary Gutierrez.

The wrong hair color has been corrected.

 

[MadMcGoo]

Unidentified Person / NamUs #UP3041
Male, White / Caucasian
​

Date Body Found: June 26, 1982
Location Found: Nez Perce County, Idaho
Estimated Age: Late Teen/Young Adult; 13-22
Estimated Height: 5' 11”
Estimated Weight: 145 lbs
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Unknown
Scar/mark: Scar on right ankle, approximately 2 inches in length

Clothing: Designer jeans (Britania brand), blue with red and white striped swimming trunks (California Sun brand), white socks and blue bikini type men's briefs

Circumstances of Recovery: On June 26, 1982, the body of an unidentified male was recovered from the Idaho side of the Snake River near the mouth of the Grand Ronde River in Nez Perce County, Idaho, approximately 25 miles south of Lewiston. Based on the condition of the remains, the decedent had likely been deceased for 2-3 weeks prior to discovery

Current list of Missing Person exclusions:
MP39979 Gary Gutierrez 08/01/1979 Chelan WA
MP20204 Sean Phelan 10/01/1981 Orange CA

 

[MadMcGoo]

What about David Thies? Missing from Manhattan, New York in 1982...

I’ve been trying to research a little about his disappearance in order to create a thread on here for him. I know it lists his date of last contact as December 1982, but after doing a little reading, something doesn’t seem quite right with the details of his case. (In my opinion!)

He is listed as 5’11”, 145 pounds (exact match to UID), no mention of a scar on his ankle but that doesn’t surprise me. His hair is listed as dark brown on all the MP sites, however, the newspaper articles I’ve dug up state that his hair is wavy and blond??? Looks dark to me.

For anyone interested in researching, his mother was Karin Artz DiGia, founder of “Children in Crisis”, and his (step? adopted? - haven’t gotten that far yet) father was Ralph DiGia, and Italian American pacifist with ties to the Chicago Seven and War Resisters League. Just reading up on those two people might give some insight as to why I believe some details could be questionable. I do know they had ties to several places in the US and other countries.

Again, just my own thoughts, observations and opinions.

 

[MadMcGoo]

This has got to be him!

Chris Michael Jennings
Missing from Kootenai Co., Idaho since September 7, 1980
- 16 years old
- 5'7, 150 pounds
- Brown hair, brown eyes
- light brown mole on the left side of his upper lip and half-inch scar on his right eyebrow.

Per The Charley Project:
Details of Disappearance
Chris was last seen in Kootenai County, Idaho on September 7, 1980. He was active in the 4-H program at his school and went to the North Idaho State Fair that day, showing his pigs. He left to go to his family's home off Ramsey Road to feed his other animals. He supposedly went to a party later. He never returned home and has never been heard from again.

Chris disappeared at the start of his junior year at Lakeland High School. His parents were fighting and he didn't like it, and there was speculation at first that he had simply run away, but after time passed without anyone hearing from him, law enforcement began to investigate other theories.

There were rumors that Chris was racing cars with his friends that night, and there was an accident in which he was killed. One witness reported seeing a Ford Mustang, "wrecked with lots of blood inside." Police were never able to confirm the stories, however.

His case remains unsolved and the circumstances of his disappearance are unclear.

 

[MadMcGoo]

A better photo from the Idaho MPCH
Missing Persons

 

[MadMcGoo]

I sent this possible match into the detectives and ME in this case...hopefully they are able to make a comparison. I could not find information about any identifiers for Chris.

Fingers crossed!