Identified! WA - Mercer Island, Male, Adult, found floating in water, May'18 - Angel Arroyo Hernandez

[sasha17]

Not a new addition to NamUs but I couldn't find a thread for him on WS.

UP67766: Adult male was found floating in Lake Washington off the shore of Mercer Island. Clad in black socks only. 5'-4" and 120 pounds.

Unidentified Person / NamUs #UP67766

 

[sasha17]

DNA Doe Project has taken his case. Further information from them: Mercer Island John Doe 2018 - DNA Doe Project Cases

"On May 6, 2018 the body of a man in his 50’s to 60’s was found floating in Lake Washington off the shore on the south end of Mercer Island, Washington. The deceased wore only black socks. An autopsy conducted by the King County Medical Examiner’s Office established the man to be approx. 5′ 4″ tall and weighing approx. 120 pounds. The deceased was possibly of Asian descent. Authorities were unable to determine how long the man had been deceased, but believe it could have been a number of weeks. Cause of death was drowning and the manner was undetermined."

Natalie Murry has done a sketch:

 

[djanga]

Also the DDP have added his admixture, he is Native American and White and not Asian as was thought before

 

[djanga]

Admixtures

 

[Nancy Drew RN]

They specifically reference Maya, so we may be looking for someone who has immigrated from Latin America to either the US or Canada.

 

[iulia]

This is strange.. He is no longer listed on NamUs.gov but his page is still working on namus.nij.ojp.gov

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

Unidentified Person / NamUs #UP67766

View NamUs unclaimed person case UCP67766 for -- -- missing from Mercer Island, Washington. Date body found: May 06, 2018. NCMEC case number: --.

namus.nij.ojp.gov

 

[sasha17]

This is strange.. He is no longer listed on NamUs.gov but his page is still working on namus.nij.ojp.gov

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

Unidentified Person / NamUs #UP67766

View NamUs unclaimed person case UCP67766 for -- -- missing from Mercer Island, Washington. Date body found: May 06, 2018. NCMEC case number: --.

namus.nij.ojp.gov

I wonder if he's been identified. DNA Doe Project took this case last year, and it was fully funded in May. The status is still listed as "in progress" on DNA Doe's website but maybe there will be news coming soon.

 

[iulia]

namus.nij.ojp.gov page is down now too.

 

[djanga]

I wonder if he's been identified. DNA Doe Project took this case last year, and it was fully funded in May. The status is still listed as "in progress" on DNA Doe's website but maybe there will be news coming soon.

I think may be King County Sheriff Office would have a press conference or would publish a press release first

 

[djanga]

Actually I am now sure if the investigation agency in this case was Mercer Island Police Department or King County Sheriff Office, but Natalie Murry, who did the reconstruction referred to Mercer Island Police Department.

https://m.facebook.com/NatalieMurryForensicArt/photos/rpp.525872737478781/3601890396543651/?type=3&theater

 

[Springrain]

Do we know for sure if it's resolved?

 

[djanga]

Do we know for sure if it's resolved?

I like how the Unidentified wiki explain “Namus profile being removed”:

This individual's NamUs file has recently been removed. While this implies the resolution of a case, no identification has been confirmed at this time.

​

And yes, Namus can be only removed by law enforcement/agency which worked on the case, it is removed when the individual has been identified. Yesterday the DDP announced the identification of two John Does from Tucson, AZ. Their Namus profiles were removed this month. By the way, one of this men, James Mark Chaparro, had Hispanic ancestry

 

[sasha17]

I like how the Unidentified wiki explain “Namus profile being removed”:

This individual's NamUs file has recently been removed. While this implies the resolution of a case, no identification has been confirmed at this time.

​

And yes, Namus can be only removed by law enforcement/agency which worked on the case, it is removed when the individual has been identified. Yesterday the DDP announced the identification of two John Does from Tucson, AZ. Their Namus profiles were removed this month. By the way, one of this men, James Mark Chaparro, had Hispanic ancestry

Knowing they took his case, I'll keep an eye on DDP's website for any updates on this Mercer Island Doe.

 

[djanga]

Accorfing to todays tiktok video of Dna Doe Project about the DDP’s Washington cases, Mercer County John Doe was of Latin American origin, the DDP team who is working on his case made a great progress and hopefully there will be an update soon.



His Namus was removed 5 months ago…

 

[djanga]

No official announcement yet…

 

[djanga]

His Namus was removed a year and two months ago

 

[djanga]

Identified today by the Dna Doe Project as Angel Arroyo Hernandez

https://www.facebook.com/100068121797204/posts/pfbid0Ue5KSH95ozBchwQ8GH61gbtyHzpP59HAWaXFo2aX1HmJTC6HWQuWDNt2kW4gwUCAl

 

[sasha17]

Identified today by the Dna Doe Project as Angel Arroyo Hernandez

https://www.facebook.com/100068121797204/posts/pfbid0Ue5KSH95ozBchwQ8GH61gbtyHzpP59HAWaXFo2aX1HmJTC6HWQuWDNt2kW4gwUCAl

Thank you for the update. I'm thankful he has his name back and I hope his family has closure.

 

[djanga]

Thank you for the update. I'm thankful he has his name back and I hope his family has closure.

There are more details on the DDP’s website

A man found in Lake Washington in May, 2018 wearing only socks has been identified as Angel Arroyo Hernandez, aged 53, who had been estranged from his family for some time before his death.

Mercer Island John Doe 2018 - DNA Doe Project

Description On May 6, 2018 the body of a man in his 50’s to 60’s was found floating in Lake Washington off the shore on the south end of Mercer Island, Washington. The deceased wore only black socks. An autopsy conducted by the King County Medical Examiner’s Office established the man to be...

dnadoeproject.org

 

[djanga]

Initially, investigators believed that this John Doe was of Asian descent, but it quickly became apparent to the genealogists that he was actually Hispanic, with many ancestors who were from Mexico and the Southwest US. Combing through historical records hand-written in Spanish, they traced his family across 11 generations through more than 200 years to find Mr Hernandez.

“This case is a good example of why cases of unidentified Hispanic and Indigenous people are so challenging,” said DNA Doe Project team leader Rebecca Somerhalder. “Even though it seems like a lot of matches, when they are all so distant to the Doe, we have a lot of work to do with limited access to records in Central and South American countries to work with.”

Mercer Island John Doe 2018 - DNA Doe Project

Description On May 6, 2018 the body of a man in his 50’s to 60’s was found floating in Lake Washington off the shore on the south end of Mercer Island, Washington. The deceased wore only black socks. An autopsy conducted by the King County Medical Examiner’s Office established the man to be...

dnadoeproject.org