TX TX - Fort Worth, WhtMale 25-40, 1154UMTX, winged #1 ring, laundry mark-"L.P. Brennan 50118", Oct'87

I am Tom Blake's sister. This find could well be him. I don't know about the panties - he never came out as a cross dresser, but I have an open mind about that. He did not have a watch like that the last time I saw him in August a few days before he vanished. If anyone really wants a twisted mystery to sink their teeth into, I will share the details. Odd and interesting story.

Hi birdfam. Nice to meet you. Wish the circumstances were better. I hope we can all help bring some closure to your family soon!
 
Wow! Thank you for that information. It has been so long, and while my parents were alive they preferred not to know. Now that they have passed away, I still drag my heels even though my desire to know is strong. I can eliminate this lead. I appreciate your concern and efforts a lot!
 
Any info that would help us help you find your brother? Do we have an official thread for Mr. Blake?
 
He vanished in early August 1987, as his report states. Beyond that it is a long and weird story: highlights:
He had a huge amount of debts, had fallen for a woman who had his baby, then bribed him with his name on the birth certificate forcing him to pay her a lot of money, then vanished. She subsequently died (natural causes), leaving his daughter with a brother and no chance of ever seeing her. Broke his heart. Just before he vanished, he was hauling onions from LA to Georgia, and in the middle of this haul had a one week layover in El Paso (border town). He came through his home town just north of El Paso, and had a woman with him that supposedly was going back to California. His truck was left running for 3 days near Big Springs - finally the State Police looked into it, and he was gone but his cigarettes and wallet (no money) were in the cab. My father, my other brother and I went to Big Springs and searched for a body in nearby fields, culverts, etc. After having no luck, we stopped at a convenience store, and the clerk told us he had been in the store that morning buying picnic supplies with a girl that matched the description of his travelling companion that supposedly returned to California. We then knew that he had left on his own. Never another word. His trucking behavior strongly suggests running drugs. Could be witness protection, could be double cross, could be murder. Lots more to it, but those are the important highlights. As I said, much more to the story - long and odd.....
 
Two new names on the Exclusions list on Namus https://identifyus.org/cases/4087
The following people have been ruled out as being this decedent:

First Name Last Name Year of Birth State LKA

Craig Alexander 1961 Vermont
John Bankston 1970 Texas
Robert Casto 1962 Texas
Calvin Deets 1953 Texas
Russell Gray 1954 Texas
Mark Merritt 1961 Texas
Richard Powell 1966 Texas
Thomas Pulaski 1967 Texas
Thomas Scott 1956 Texas
Patrick Taylor 1959 Illinois

Did anybody ever submit Michael Adams or Thomas Blake? Given what has been said recently about DNA matching not being as automatic as we thought, perhaps it would be worth making sure that they have the same DNA in the same location as the UID.
 
Just want to pipe up and warn everyone not to put too much stock in the ladies underwear as a clue. There are a couple of different reasons he might have been wearing them but in 1987 the typical person would have been in the closet about all of them. It's likely that first degree family members would have no clue and you would not know from exterior presentation. Likely only intimate partners and/or friends within that subculture--if he had any, many never make that kind of contact--would be aware.
 
I think the ring is definitely a Harley "USA #1" winged logo. Most of the images of it have been with stars and stripes on the '1'. I did find a belt buckle with red, white and blue inlay on Etsy so that upped my confidence this UID was a biker. Harley owners are usually quite attached to Harley in general.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/892643...e&ga_search_type=vintage&ga_view_type=gallery

ETA, Carrying and unspent cartridge usually means "someone's name is on it".
 
I think the ring is definitely a Harley "USA #1" winged logo. Most of the images of it have been with stars and stripes on the '1'. I did find a belt buckle with red, white and blue inlay on Etsy so that upped my confidence this UID was a biker. Harley owners are usually quite attached to Harley in general.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/892643...e&ga_search_type=vintage&ga_view_type=gallery

ETA, Carrying and unspent cartridge usually means "someone's name is on it".

I found this which has a little more info about the ring designers (not sure if that's of further help tho):

http://for-sale.yowcow.com/listing/70331769/

"Has tourquoise & Red colored stones inlaid Jewelry signed “G+S” is the work of jewel crafters Barbara Seidenath and Lydia Gastroph under G&S Designs makers of fine quality jewelry in the USA."
 
I found this which has a little more info about the ring designers (not sure if that's of further help tho):

http://for-sale.yowcow.com/listing/70331769/

"Has tourquoise & Red colored stones inlaid Jewelry signed “G+S” is the work of jewel crafters Barbara Seidenath and Lydia Gastroph under G&S Designs makers of fine quality jewelry in the USA."

!983 - Well since that is the actual ring design it is quite helpful IMO. That seller doesn't mention Harley but I see no reason G+S could not have designed it for Harley. I saw a few others on Google referencing eBay but going there they must have ben sold.

This is a vest pin but same logo I think.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HARLEY-DAVI...S-NO-RESERVE-PATRIOTIC-AMERICAN-/110986615777
 
The Doe Network:
Case File 1154UMTX
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1154umtx.html

1154UMTX.jpg
1154UMTX1.jpg
1154UMTX2.jpg

Reconstruction of Victim, Watch & Ring

Unidentified White Male

* The victim was discovered on October 10, 1987 in Tarrant County, Texas
* Estimated Date of Death: October 5, 1987
* Cause of Death: Homicide

Vital Statistics

* Estimated age: 25-40 years old
* Approximate Height and Weight: 6'0-6'2"; 140-150 lbs.
* Distinguishing Characteristics: Brown hair.
* Clothing: A "Land's End" brand, blue, short-sleeve, pull-over, knit shirt with a white stripe (size medium). A "Brigade" brand, plaid, flannel, long-sleeve shirt (size medium). Blue, bikini briefs (women's size small); "Lee" brand, blue jeans (size 32x34), with a laundry mark in the pants, that reads "L.P. Brennan 50118," and dark socks. "Etonic" brand, athletic shoes were found near the body.
* Jewelry: The victim had a worn silver metal ring, with flat, blue and red stones, forming a numeral 1 with applied wings. He had a "Kronotron" brand, gold metal, analog watch in his pocket, that did not have a crystal or band. He also carried an unfired .32 caliber cartridge in his pants pocket.

Case History
The victim was located in a field behind 22 Assisi Court, in unincorporated Tarrant County, very near Benbrook Lake.

He may have been from Massachusetts, Indiana, Tennessee, or Mississippi, and may have served in the Air Force.

The victim may have gone by the names Thomas Jeffrey, Jeffrey Taylor, or Joseph Taylor.

BBM

The laundry mark is likely from a cleaners (ours marks my husband's shirts the same way to safeguard against loss or mix-up). The name L. P. Brennan with a 5-digit # after it is likely a person's name with their zipcode. The only town with that zipcode is Hartford, Iowa.

There was indeed an L J Brennan in Hartford, IA, and his wife's initials were I P Brennan. L J Brennan was in the Air Corps in WW2. I believe they had 4 or 5 children (variances in the trees on ancestry dot com) - 4 daughters are listed on the headstone of the parents, but one tree also mentions a son's first and middle name (no other info given).

If this is relevant to anyone researching this case, please message me and I can provide the details privately.
 
Has this missing person been checked? NCIC Number: M-809138678 Missing from Iowa, may have been abducted (or possibly killed/taken out of state by another missing person, Forsyth).



They eyebrows are slightly different, but if he died 9 years after disappearing (@ about age 31), the face might be even narrower than in these pictures.

KIRCH(H)OFF, Steven Dick – 5’11” 140 lbs brown/brown DOB 1955 MSG 1978 (Waterloo, IA). * sev’l fillings/other dental work. http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/k/kirchhoff_steven.html
NAMUS: Dental information/charting is available and entered; DNA n/a Waterloo PD: Case # W78-850
Doe Network: http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/236dmia.html (Kirchhoff spelled w/ 2 H’s)
Iowa Dept of Public Safety – Missing Persons Clearinghouse:
http://www.iowaonline.state.ia.us/mpic/Controller.aspx?cmd=personDetailCommand&id=16860
 
From Iowa Cold Cases:
https://iowacoldcases.org/case-summaries/steven-kirchhoff/ Notes:

Some reports also state that Kirchhoff resided in Waterloo, Iowa. According to the Cedar Valley Crime Stoppers, Kirchhoff lived in Cedar Falls. He was, however, reported missing to the Waterloo Police Department

Another missing Iowa man, Richard Forsyth, may have been connected in some way to Kirchoff’s disappearance. Press accounts at the time noted that Forsyth was seen carrying something from his apartment wrapped in a rug. Forsyth allegedly paid cash for a Cadillac seven days after Kirchhoff vanished, and disappeared himself in 1979.

The Kirchhoff family had tracked Forsyth to an uncle’s home in Arizona.
However, Forsyth allegedly learned of the search and fled. Forsyth is also still missing and has not been conclusively linked to Kirchhoff’s case. Both men’s cases remain unsolved

*Cedar Falls is just NE of Des Moines (& suburb Hartford). Bluejeans could’ve been donated to charity by the airforce-affiliated Brennans who lived in Hartford, Iowa all their lives (into the 1990s). Jeans could have been bought second-hand in the area for as long as the Brennans lived there (all their lives).

*I-35 is THE major trafficking (drugs, human) route to and from TX. Here's a link to the map for zooming in: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Ced...17fc1cd71!2m2!1d-111.0937311!2d34.0489281!3e0

*I-35 goes directly down to DFW area where Forsyth could’ve dumped body (Fort Worth) before heading west to Arizona (where he was definitely tracked to an uncle's house).

 
Has this missing person been checked? NCIC Number: M-809138678 Missing from Iowa, may have been abducted (or possibly killed/taken out of state by another missing person, Forsyth).

I see a resemblance in the jawline and the nose.

Nice work with the maps and such. You're very thorough :)
 
I see a resemblance in the jawline and the nose.

Nice work with the maps and such. You're very thorough :)

Thanks, micheleonelonly! I need Pictures. :D

Another thing I noticed in the NaMus report was that the UID had "full" and medium length light brown hair. The photos of Kirchhoff do show a full head of hair (esp noticeable in the one on the far right).
 
The only thing is, if the ME report is accurate, it's likely he wasn't killed by Forsyth back in 1978--I think this UID was thought to have been dead only 5 days. So, maybe he was on the run from Forsyth? Or someone who finally caught up with him? (The NaMus report does state that he'd been living at an area shelter under an assumed name.)

Anyway, I shot an email to an Iowa case worker awhile ago, and will let you know if I hear anything back.
 
BBM

The laundry mark is likely from a cleaners (ours marks my husband's shirts the same way to safeguard against loss or mix-up). The name L. P. Brennan with a 5-digit # after it is likely a person's name with their zipcode. The only town with that zipcode is Hartford, Iowa.

There was indeed an L J Brennan in Hartford, IA, and his wife's initials were I P Brennan. L J Brennan was in the Air Corps in WW2. I believe they had 4 or 5 children (variances in the trees on ancestry dot com) - 4 daughters are listed on the headstone of the parents, but one tree also mentions a son's first and middle name (no other info given).

If this is relevant to anyone researching this case, please message me and I can provide the details privately.

Nice find! We can safely exclude LJB as the UID as the real LJB, Jr. died in 2013 with a full obituary online. Maybe he had donated some clothing and this man bought them or was given them.
 

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