WI WI - Rhinelander, WhtMale 25-45, UP60642, in field, 6'4, poss wore glasses, Helbros watch, Mar'80 - Norman John Christopher Grasser

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branmuffin said:
I like Harold Haynes, too. My problem is that the autopsy said the deceased had bilateral alopecia which is a fancy way to say he had a receding hairline in the classic way: starting at the temple on both sides. The images I see of Harold, he doesn't appear to have a receding hairline. I think Harold looks Native American but they are the one ethnic group that don't appear to be stricken with male pattern baldness.
Click to expand...

The reason I think he could possibly be Native American is location and no reports of a missing person. Almost anyone up in Rhinelander in the middle of winter is probably a local. The AIM (American Indian Movement) was pretty big up in northern WI in the 70's and there was lots of distrust of law enforcement etc. Hubby is 1/2 Native American and has the receding temple thing. Said he got it from his maternal grandfather, who coincidentally was probably at least 75% NA. Many Native Americans have mixed ancestry genetically, so you can't tell by appearance.

Just putting this out there, that he could be local and not reported as missing due to possible mistrust of law enforcement.
 
Friday Fan said:
The reason I think he could possibly be Native American is location and no reports of a missing person. Almost anyone up in Rhinelander in the middle of winter is probably a local. The AIM (American Indian Movement) was pretty big up in northern WI in the 70's and there was lots of distrust of law enforcement etc. Hubby is 1/2 Native American and has the receding temple thing. Said he got it from his maternal grandfather, who coincidentally was probably at least 75% NA. Many Native Americans have mixed ancestry genetically, so you can't tell by appearance.

Just putting this out there, that he could be local and not reported as missing due to possible mistrust of law enforcement.
Click to expand...
RE: receding temple thing, my brother also has this but his pattern is due to prolonged malnourishment and didn't run in the family. No NA ancestry here - mostly Middle Eastern and Hispanic.
 
BigCityAccountant said:
Has Andrew "Andy" Thomas ever been proposed? He went missing in January, 1980 from Ashland, WI. Ashland is directly southeast on the main through fair being Route 51. This UID was found about 120 miles from Ashland. This UID was found in March 1980. Thomas was 5'10" so not far off from the 6'4" for the UID (About 6") The weights are approximately the same (Thomas at 170) and the UID estimated to be 165-175.

Also, it appears that Thomas wore glasses, which Possibly wore glasses based on brownish areas on either side of the nose. Thomas was said to have not been wearing his glasses.

WI - WI - Andrew “Andy” Thomas Viater, 22, Ashland, 22 Jan 1980
Click to expand...

I just noticed this. It's a real possibility.

I don't know why I didn't make the connection several pages back!
 
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RHINELANDER, Wis. (WSAW) - The body of a man found in 1980 near Rhinelander has been identified. Advanced forensic DNA testing has allowed investigators to confirm the man’s identity as Norman Grasser of Chicago.

On March 19, 1980 the man’s body was found in a field Town of Pine Lake.

www.wsaw.com

Oneida County John Doe identified as Chicago man missing since 1980

The body of a man found in 1980 near Rhinelander has been identified. Advanced forensic DNA testing has allowed investigators to confirm the man’s identity as Norman Grasser of Chicago.
www.wsaw.com www.wsaw.com

www.findagrave.com

Norman John Christopher “Norm” Grasser ...

Norman Grasser was buried for 43 years in Forest Home Cemetery, Rhinelander, WI.
www.findagrave.com www.findagrave.com

Gravesite Details​

On 20th of January 1980 he was reported "Missing" in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois. Since that day, he has never been heard of again. There was no body interred, only a memorial tombstone.
Click to expand...

I wonder how he ended up in Oneida County, Wisconsin two months later?

"On March 19, 1980 the man’s body was found in a field Town of Pine Lake."
 
Last edited:
HmmMysterious said:
John Doe has been identified as 31-year-old Norman John Christopher Grasser of Chicago, Illinois. He was reported missing in January 1980. Rest in peace Norman.

Oneida County John Doe identified as Chicago man missing since 1980
Norman John Christopher “Norm” Grasser...

View attachment 468276
Click to expand...
I didn't see this thread when I posted. I see his father was an electrician in Chicago based on his obituary at Findagrave.com. Their family had a homestead at Porterfield, 110 miles southeast, near Peshtigo, WI.

www.websleuths.com

WI - Norman Grasser of Chicago, missing 1980, identified Dec 2023, Pine Lake, Oneida County, Wisconsin

RHINELANDER, Wis. (WSAW) - The body of a man found in 1980 near Rhinelander has been identified. Advanced forensic DNA testing has allowed investigators to confirm the man’s identity as Norman Grasser of Chicago. On March 19, 1980 the man’s body was found in a field Town of Pine Lake...
www.websleuths.com www.websleuths.com
 
Last edited:
Friday Fan cited a news article on the then
UID in this post:
WI - WI - Rhinelander, WhtMale 25-45, UP60642, in field, 6'4, poss wore glasses, Helbros watch, Mar'80
unfortunately that article link no longer seems to
work, but the article (which includes a picture of a
1980 newspaper cutting) is partially viewable here;

From the various facts about the case I came to
the conclusion that 'the body which was found
about 100 feet east of Route 17' was likely found
just north of several houses on the north side of
Royalwood Lane. I assume what happened was
that Norman Grasser crashed his car into a body
of water (possibly iced over at that time of
year), managed to get out and walked some
distance, to eventually collapse just as he came
close to those houses, perhaps walking towards
the only house that had a light on in its' (side
or rear) windows. Previous commenters have
made it clear it's not unususal for this locales
dwellings to be vacant at that time of year,
some of the houses being utilized as summer
cottages.
IMO, he walked in wet, icy clothes and collapsed
unconcious possibly due to the minor head injuries
he sustained - thereafter, dying of hyperthermia.
He had keys in his wallet, but these perhaps
weren't car keys, which would remain in the car
ignition. He wasn't wearing and didn't have gloves,
which you probably wouldn't wear if you were
driving, ditto as to a hat. He did have some
(homemade) earmuffs which he wasn't wearing
- why not? probably they were in his jacket
pocket, drenched, and couldn't be dried out
before the water adhering to them froze.
No-one's going to wear frozen earmuffs.

Which body of water might any car be in?
Seems it could be Jennie Webber Lake, but
that's shallow, like 5 foot and less near where
it's adjacent to Route 17 where a car could
go in off the road, about 2 miles walking from
where his body was found.
Jennie Webber Lake, Wisconsin | Lake, Fishing & Travel Info

Aside from that Lake, there is a farmer's pond
that I think could contain his car, it's located at;
Code: 
https://historicaerials.com/location/45.7257/-89.2697/1980/18
and has several tight turns on the adjacent
dirt road next to it, not sure if that road is
Spafford Rd or Blueberry Ln, Oneida County, WI.
It would be some 4 miles from there to where
his body was found, assuming he stuck to the
roads and didn't cut any corners walking cross
country.

With his father being an electrician and Norman
Grasser being ~31 years old, I wonder if he was
also an electrician (which might explain the
compass he was carrying, which might be useful
to an electrician for initial finding of electricity
carrying wires). If Norman Grasser was driving
to/from some farm job, in poor visiblity rain,
fog or falling snow, it would be understandable
how he could be in that area and accidently
crash into Jennie Webber Lake, or that pond
which seems to be located on land belonging to
Sowinski Farms Incorporated.
 
Last edited:
buyerninety said:
Friday Fan cited a news article on the then
UID in this post:
WI - WI - Rhinelander, WhtMale 25-45, UP60642, in field, 6'4, poss wore glasses, Helbros watch, Mar'80
unfortunately that article link no longer seems to
work, but the article (which includes a picture of a
1980 newspaper cutting) is partially viewable here;

From the various facts about the case I came to
the conclusion that 'the body which was found
about 100 feet east of Route 17' was likely found
just north of several houses on the north side of
Royalwood Lane. I assume what happened was
that Norman Grasser crashed his car into a body
of water (possibly iced over at that time of
year), managed to get out and walked some
distance, to eventually collapse just as he came
close to those houses, perhaps walking towards
the only house that had a light on in its' (side
or rear) windows. Previous commenters have
made it clear it's not unususal for this locales
dwellings to be vacant at that time of year,
some of the houses being utilized as summer
cottages.
IMO, he walked in wet, icy clothes and collapsed
unconcious possibly due to the minor head injuries
he sustained - thereafter, dying of hyperthermia.
He had keys in his wallet, but these perhaps
weren't car keys, which would remain in the car
ignition. He wasn't wearing and didn't have gloves,
which you probably wouldn't wear if you were
driving, ditto as to a hat. He did have some
(homemade) earmuffs which he wasn't wearing
- why not? probably they were in his jacket
pocket, drenched, and couldn't be dried out
before the water adhering to them froze.
No-one's going to wear frozen earmuffs.

Which body of water might any car be in?
Seems it could be Jennie Webber Lake, but
that's shallow, like 5 foot and less near where
it's adjacent to Route 17 where a car could
go in off the road, about 2 miles walking from
where his body was found.
Jennie Webber Lake, Wisconsin | Lake, Fishing & Travel Info

Aside from that Lake, there is a farmer's pond
that I think could contain his car, it's located at;
Code: 
https://historicaerials.com/location/45.7257/-89.2697/1980/18
and has several tight turns on the adjacent
dirt road next to it, not sure if that road is
Spafford Rd or Blueberry Ln, Oneida County, WI.
It would be some 4 miles from there to where
his body was found, assuming he stuck to the
roads and didn't cut any corners walking cross
country.

With his father being an electrician and Norman
Grasser being ~31 years old, I wonder if he was
also an electrician (which might explain the
compass he was carrying, which might be useful
to an electrician for initial finding of electricity
carrying wires). If Norman Grasser was driving
to/from some farm job, in poor visiblity rain,
fog or falling snow, it would be understandable
how he could be in that area and accidently
crash into Jennie Webber Lake, or that pond
which seems to be located on land belonging to
Sowinski Farms Incorporated.
Click to expand...
Your possible scenario sounds very logical to me. Too bad we don't know whether he owned a vehicle when he disappeared and whether that vehicle disappeared when he did. That car shouldn't be that far from the shoreline.

Google search page:
Jennie Webber Lake is a 237 acre lake located in Oneida County. It has a maximum depth of only 8 feet and common fish include Largemouth Bass and Northern Pike. Visitors have access to the lake from a public boat landing on the west side of the lake on Highway 17.
Click to expand...
 
It's interesting that they have a date of death for him as Jan 20th. I guess this was when he was last seen.

Sounds like his dad was dedicated to the place near Pestigo, hence Norman was also likely dedicated to the area. (Northern WI property is something that families hang on to. It's considered vacation property)

Gotta wonder what happened??

I know there's water all over the place there. However, on Jan 20th, 1980 it would be frozen, unless it's on the river.

It's such a small town, that if his vehicle was impounded, they probably would have remembered it in March and would have kept a record of it. (It would likely still be impounded)
 
More info. I should have googled before my previous post

tomahawkleader.com

Man found dead in Oneida County field in 1980 identified as missing Chicago resident - Tomahawk Leader Newspaper

The identity of a man found dead in Oneida County more than four decades ago has been discovered.
tomahawkleader.com

www.cbsnews.com

Students identify Chicago man 43 years after he was found dead in Wisconsin

The student investigators generated a profile to a DNA database – which led to a Chicago man named Norman Grasser.
www.cbsnews.com www.cbsnews.com

www.ramapo.edu

Investigative Genetic Genealogy Helps Identify John Doe in 43-year Cold Case

Norman Grasser of Chicago, IL Identified by Ramapo College of New Jersey Mahwah, NJ- Students of the Ramapo College of New Jersey Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG) Center have successfully uncovered the identity of “Rhinelander John Doe,” now known to be Mr. Norman Grasser of Chicago, IL...
www.ramapo.edu www.ramapo.edu

Grasser had disappeared in Chicago on Jan. 20, 1980.

Mr.Grasser’s brother had been searching for him for over 40 years and even created a FindAGrave page noting that the date of Mr. Grasser’s death was the day he was reported missing, January 20, 1980, in Chicago, IL.


A memorial tombstone for Grasser was placed in All Saints Catholic Cemetery and Mausoleum in Des Plaines, Ill., in Aug. 2016, according to the page. (This was before they knew he was found in northern WI)

The release did not say why Grasser was in Oneida County.

________________________



His find a grave site has been updated with: He will be reinterred at a later date with his mother. The Find a Grave site now gives Mar 19th (the date his was found) as his death date. Norman John Christopher “Norm” Grasser...


If his death date was around March 19th, we can assume he died from a different type of hypothermia, than if he died in January. He could have been out and about in warmer weather, and it quickly turned cold. He could have been riding with someone and may have been looking for another ride?

A previous article that no longer exists states he could have been deceased for three months. But there is not much information.

A previous post said his eye color was undetermined...
 
Last edited:
There are definitely lots of unanswered questions in this case. But without knowing more about the circumstances he went missing in, they are hard to impossible to answer. Even then, perhaps there are mysteries as his family doesn't seem to have been looking for him in this location. His missing person report doesn't seem to have been online anywhere?
 
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