MN MN - St Paul, GRAPHIC, WhtMale 20-40, UP12123, frozen in vacant bldg, layers of clothing, Feb'85

[Bit of hope]

He reminds me of Denim but that seems really unlikely... MOO.

I posted him in Denim's thread as a possible match. That's why he looks familiair I guess.

 

[lunarpisces]

So, I noticed Samuel Todd's NAMUS says he has two scars on his left cheek, just under his eye.

If you zoom in on the profile of the decedent, there are some pixels that look like scars.

Wow! I see something there too. Thank you for contacting the investigator.

 

[AlwaysCoffee]

Wow! I see something there too. Thank you for contacting the investigator.

I'm glad you see them too!

With Peggy Johnson fresh in my mind, I questioned whether or not we were suggesting the right young men as potential matches because poor Peggy was never reported missing, and I wondered if this guy may have fallen through the cracks as well. But then I looked for the scars, and that sealed it for me. In my own amateur and speculative opinion, I'd be willing to bet the farm that this is Sam.

He was a grad student under a tremendous amount of pressure, and it sounds like he honestly was feeling similar things that I was when I was working on my own MA. It's not easy, and the experience can challenge your feelings of self-worth. I think he was overwhelmed and ran away. Our poor John Doe was died weeks before he was found, which could put his date of death close to the anniversary of the time Sam disappeared. Maybe with one year passing, he just felt like he couldn't do it anymore and decided to commit suicide. He doesn't strike me as a casual drug user, honestly, but he does strike me as confused, exhausted, anxious, and afraid. If that's true, then those feelings could have put him tremendously at risk.

All my dumb opinion, of course, but I've never felt so strong about a true crime opinion. I'm 110% sure that Sam is our Doe.

 

[AlwaysCoffee]

I posted him in Denim's thread as a possible match. That's why he looks familiair I guess.

Sorry to double post, but who is Denim? I'd like to check out his thread.

 

[KLCD620]

Sorry to double post, but who is Denim? I'd like to check out his thread.

You can find the thread from the Unidentified on page 4, scroll it down little bit & see that title: FL-Big Cypress N.P., Male hiker, "Denim". It's same death (beard) face by opening mouth except one thing: frozen appearance (MN winter) & the other is not frozen (FL summer).

 

[Gardener1850]

Sorry to double post, but who is Denim? I'd like to check out his thread.

An Unidentified hiker found in FL in July 2018. Many people met him along the Appalachian Trail and had living photos of him, but no one got his real life name. We are on thread 2 for him. Start on thread 1:
FL - FL - Big Cypress National Preserve, Male hiker, "Denim" and "Mostly Harmless", 23 July 2018
Thread 2:
FL - FL - Big Cypress National Preserve, Male hiker, "Denim" and "Mostly Harmless", 23 July 2018 #2

 

[Bit of hope]

An Unidentified hiker found in FL in July 2018. Many people met him along the Appalachian Trail and had living photos of him, but no one got his real life name. We are on thread 2 for him. Start on thread 1:
FL - FL - Big Cypress National Preserve, Male hiker, "Denim" and "Mostly Harmless", 23 July 2018
Thread 2:
FL - FL - Big Cypress National Preserve, Male hiker, "Denim" and "Mostly Harmless", 23 July 2018 #2

By now we all? know that Samuel Todd is not Mostly Harmless, who is identified as being Vance Rodriguez, announced in January 2021. But that doesn't say he could be this John Doe. Any news from the investigator about a match with Samuel Todd?

 

[carbuff]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

MP19371 Craig Alexander 01/28/1985 Chittenden VT
MP2421 Mark Clarke 12/01/1983 Jackson NC
MP11644 Mitchell Hein 02/01/1983 Jefferson CO
MP13846 Jackson Orvin 06/06/1984 Collier FL
MP1890 David Thomson 07/04/1979 Hennepin MN
MP20159 Andrew Viater 01/22/1980 Ashland WI
MP18503 Kent Ware 07/13/1984 Clark NV

Bolded names added since last update.

 

[Triss]

John Nealey is in the right age and height range and has the same hair colour as this Doe. He was reported missing in 1984 from South Carolina which is quite far from MN, but you never know.
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

 

[Melt71]

No additional ruleouts added in Namus.

 

[John/Jane Doe]

3363UMMN

 

[Bit of hope]

I went through some Canadian missing persons and found this missing person. John Robert Lake

Canada's Missing | Case details



On August 16, 1984, John Lake was last seen leaving a hospital in Vancouver, British Columbia. He stated he was heading to Seattle.

Missing since August 16, 1984
Year of birth 1958
Age at disappearance 26 John Doe Age range 20-40 Years
Gender Male
Bio group White
Eye color Brown John Doe N/A
Hair Brown
Height 178cm / 5 ft 10 in John Doe 5' 11"(71 inches) , Measured
Weight 77kg / 170 lbs John Doe 180 lbs, Measured
Build Medium
Complexion Light/Fair

Scars: Right Thigh/Left Side Of Head, From ear to chin John Doe N/A

 

[Trying my best]

Hi,
I'm brand new here (My first post.) I'm a Photoshop hobbyist. I've been restoring and repairing pictures for fun for a number of years. I am not professionally trained.

I took a crack at assembling an artist's representation image based on the post-mortem images and clothes listed in the Namus for this case. There are about 14 photoshop layers here blending skin, hair, clothing, etc. The image preserves the facial structure of the original images, but I made some adjustments to account for what happens to the face post death and the perspective warp caused by the post-mortem photo.



Looking for feedback on ways to improve the image / my technique. If there is a better place to post a question like this, I'd appreciate a pointer to the right place. I'm also open to suggestions of other cases I could help contribute on.

Thanks,

Allen

 

[Alleykins]

@Trying my best
Welcome aboard. That's a great recreation. I don't know how you'd make it noticeable from this angle, but I think his nose might have had a pronounced curve across the bridge, like a parrot nose, I think they call it. Not super big, but there. But that's just my perception of his PM picture. Otherwise, I think what you've done is good work.

 

[Triss]

Hi,
I'm brand new here (My first post.) I'm a Photoshop hobbyist. I've been restoring and repairing pictures for fun for a number of years. I am not professionally trained.

I took a crack at assembling an artist's representation image based on the post-mortem images and clothes listed in the Namus for this case. There are about 14 photoshop layers here blending skin, hair, clothing, etc. The image preserves the facial structure of the original images, but I made some adjustments to account for what happens to the face post death and the perspective warp caused by the post-mortem photo.

View attachment 347157

Looking for feedback on ways to improve the image / my technique. If there is a better place to post a question like this, I'd appreciate a pointer to the right place. I'm also open to suggestions of other cases I could help contribute on.

Thanks,

Allen

Very impressive! Welcome to Websleuths!

 

[Trying my best]

Very impressive! Welcome to Websleuths!

Thanks!

 

[Trying my best]

** GRAPHIC ** warning, Post Mortem image comparison included lower in post.

I submitted Missing Person Sephan Charles Dunaetz MP17747 as a match last week.

Stephan is reported as having a full beard and mustache at the time he went missing. He went missing 3 years prior to the discovery of the decedent. The decedent's case mentions he was likely transient but the article about the retiring MN coroner linked in this thread mentions that his dental care was good so he wasn't likely a transient for long.

The link on the CA missing persons page Stephen Charles Dunaetz | State of California - Department of Justice - Office of the Attorney General has a more recent photo than the NAMUS link.



It may be just a circumstantial coincidence, but since neither of them is listed on the excludes list for the other I figured I'd submit it. I got a response from the NAMUS regional rep last Monday acknowledging receipt of the tip but haven't heard anything else yet. Fingers crossed.

Here's my rationale -- Stephan's original picture above and the PM image are shot at almost exactly the same angle. If you blow up Stephan's Image to the same size as the decedent, the eyes, nose, and general face shape match one of the decedent's PMs fairly closely without having to morph the picture at all (beside changing scale.) Superimposing the images comes really close including the nasal features that @Alleykins pointed out.



I'm curious if Carl thinks this has merit, since he did the original reconstruction used officially.

 

[Bit of hope]

** GRAPHIC ** warning, Post Mortem image comparison included lower in post.

I submitted Missing Person Sephan Charles Dunaetz MP17747 as a match last week.View attachment 352512

Stephan is reported as having a full beard and mustache at the time he went missing. He went missing 3 years prior to the discovery of the decedent. The decedent's case mentions he was likely transient but the article about the retiring MN coroner linked in this thread mentions that his dental care was good so he wasn't likely a transient for long.

The link on the CA missing persons page Stephen Charles Dunaetz | State of California - Department of Justice - Office of the Attorney General has a more recent photo than the NAMUS link.

View attachment 352515

It may be just a circumstantial coincidence, but since neither of them is listed on the excludes list for the other I figured I'd submit it. I got a response from the NAMUS regional rep last Monday acknowledging receipt of the tip but haven't heard anything else yet. Fingers crossed.

Here's my rationale -- Stephan's original picture above and the PM image are shot at almost exactly the same angle. If you blow up Stephan's Image to the same size as the decedent, the eyes, nose, and general face shape match one of the decedent's PMs fairly closely without having to morph the picture at all (beside changing scale.) Superimposing the images comes really close including the nasal features that @Alleykins pointed out.

View attachment 352514

I'm curious if Carl thinks this has merit, since he did the original reconstruction used officially.

Thank you!

 

[CarlK90245]

I'm curious if Carl thinks this has merit, since he did the original reconstruction used officially.

My own opinion- I'm not seeing it. This John Doe has a very definite Nordic look, that is not apparent in either of the two MPs that you have here.

 

[Trying my best]

Thank you!

My own opinion- I'm not seeing it. This John Doe has a very definite Nordic look, that is not apparent in either of the two MPs that you have here.

Thanks for looking! I initially scrolled right past Stephan as well. The three-year gap between going missing and discovery of the decedent gave me pause.

What made me stop was the tip of the nose, the spacing of the eyes and the height of the eye sockets, relative to the PM photo. When I downloaded the photos and overlaid them, they were really pretty close. The weights match, the height is within one inch, and the ages fall in the same relative time period. Naturally curly hair, full beard and moustache.

Hopefully, I'm not wasting everyone's time, but I thought it was worth pointing out. Given the disqualifications for the cases, maybe they have DNA or Dental imagery on file and it would be quick verification one way or the other.