NM NM- Forest area N. of Albuquerque, Sandoval County John Doe, #UP8365, skeletal, May 2001, DNA- Keeble Wofford Sr. (AKA Kimo Mahi), actor/wrestler,2025

[dotr]

Sandoval County John Doe (2001) is now Identified

Sandoval County Sheriff's Department & New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator Team with Othram to Identify a 2001 John Doe

dnasolves.com

'In May 2001, hikers came across bones sticking out of the ground in a forest area in Sandoval County, New Mexico. Sandoval County is a rural county north of Albuquerque. The hikers contacted law enforcement and the Sandoval County Sheriff's Office responded. The bones were excavated with an anthropologist who determined the skeletal remains had been buried in a shallow grave with lime poured over in layers. Initially, investigators believed it may have been the remains of more than one person, but later evidence showed it was one adult male. Despite years of investigative efforts, the identity of this individual remained a mystery and he became known as Sandoval County John Doe. Details of the case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP8365.'

''This investigation led to the positive identification of the man as Keeble Wofford Sr. who was also known as Kimo Mahi. A death certificate was issued by New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator and Wofford Sr.'s daughter will be receive his cremated remains. Investigators continue to investigate the circumstances involving his death. Wofford had a colorful life as a wrestler and actor starting in the 1950’s, according to investigators. He may have also been associated with organized crime at some point as an alleged hitman.''

 

[Susikatze]

Wow, he starred in many movies of the 50s and 60s, always playing Hawaiian/Pacific Islander characters. It appears he really was african american, though, but with his pseudonym he pretended to be Hawaiian (and had a successful career in entertainment that way).

When did he become a missing person?

 

[The4TierBridge]

I always find it interesting when Does turn out to be minor celebrities/notable people. You’d think that would make them easier to miss, right?

 

[LordMo]

Can't find too much information about him even on the really obscure oldhead wrestling sites, but it looks like he wrestled a lot in Hawaii, Texas, and had a stint in the UK as "Chief Red Eagle."

 

[victoriarobinson642]

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TWILIGHT FOR THE GODS, rear from left: Charles McGraw, Charles Horvath, Arthur Kennedy, Kimo Mahi, Cyd Charisse, Leif Erickson, Ernest Truex, Richard Haydn (back to camera front) on set, 1958 Stock Photo - Alamy

Download this stock image: TWILIGHT FOR THE GODS, rear from left: Charles McGraw, Charles Horvath, Arthur Kennedy, Kimo Mahi, Cyd Charisse, Leif Erickson, Ernest Truex, Richard Haydn (back to camera front) on set, 1958 - 2ABEY19 from Alamy's library of millions of high resolution stock photos...

www.alamy.com

From what I'm seeing, he was born in Oklahoma in 1930 and moved to Los Angeles as a teen, where he later married L H in 1954. Parents Edna Hynson and Henry Wofford. He had one younger sister and one older sister, and was raised by his mother. He and his younger sister were listed under her maiden name on the 1950 census.

 

[victoriarobinson642]

Can't find too much information about him even on the really obscure oldhead wrestling sites, but it looks like he wrestled a lot in Hawaii, Texas, and had a stint in the UK as "Chief Red Eagle."

Wrestlers: R1

These are our shorter Biographical portraits which we would like to extend if you can provide information or memories. Jean Rabut Erstwhile French and European lightweight champion Jean Rabut visit…

wrestlingheritage.co.uk

This site suggests he died/disappeared on 7th September, 1992. Unsure where they got that info.

 

[LordMo]

Wrestlers: R1

These are our shorter Biographical portraits which we would like to extend if you can provide information or memories. Jean Rabut Erstwhile French and European lightweight champion Jean Rabut visit…

wrestlingheritage.co.uk

This site suggests he died/disappeared on 7th September, 1992. Unsure where they got that info.

yeah I'm not sure either, I saw it on a few wrestling databases so I guess somehow, someone knew the 1992 disappearance date mentioned in the dnasolves article and mentioned it on some ancient message board or newsgroup or something.

 

[LordMo]

Wrestlers: R1

These are our shorter Biographical portraits which we would like to extend if you can provide information or memories. Jean Rabut Erstwhile French and European lightweight champion Jean Rabut visit…

wrestlingheritage.co.uk

This site suggests he died/disappeared on 7th September, 1992. Unsure where they got that info.

I let the webmaster know about the news, he dug up even more info about his career (mostly pertaining to the UK in the 1950s-1960s) and wrote a little tribute article:

Red Eagle

Wrestling Heritage welcomes memories, further information and corrections. The Mystery of Life and Death Years before Billy Two Rivers ignited the emotions of the nation the United Kingdom was visi…

wrestlingheritage.co.uk

 

[TwinkieDefense]

May 20, 2025 article - indicates Investigators continue to investigate.

https://www.krqe.com/news/new-mexico/remains-of-found-in-santa-fe-national-forest-identified-as-1950s-wrestler-actor/

[…]

Investigators built a family tree that led to likely relatives of the man, including a possible daughter. The daughter submitted a reference DNA sample to Othram, which was compared to the unidentified man’s DNA profile and led to the positive identification of the man.

“People should know that it doesn’t matter how old a case is, or whether it was hopeless in the past, there is technology here today that is able to bring answers to families like in this case,” Kristen Mittelman, chief development officer for Othram, said.

[…]

 

[iamshadow21]

Wow, he starred in many movies of the 50s and 60s, always playing Hawaiian/Pacific Islander characters. It appears he really was african american, though, but with his pseudonym he pretended to be Hawaiian (and had a successful career in entertainment that way).

When did he become a missing person?

Was he really? That's surprising to me. His 'older' photo he could have passed for a close relative of my stepfather, who was 100% from Aitutaki.

MOO

 

[victoriarobinson642]

Was he really? That's surprising to me. His 'older' photo he could have passed for a close relative of my stepfather, who was 100% from Aitutaki.

MOO

From what I could find, he was Black and possibly indigenous (I'm not sure I found the right Henry Wofford, but one of them is half Muscogee)

 

[iamshadow21]

From what I could find, he was Black and possibly indigenous (I'm not sure I found the right Henry Wofford, but one of them is half Muscogee)

Ah, if that's the case, maybe that's why, then. There are some genetic links between some Native American peoples and Pacific Islanders. Way back, but they're there.

MOO

 

[The4TierBridge]

Othram posted a new picture of him to the DNASolves page (it appears to be what the AI enhanced image was based on). I actually really like that they did this because I think the attempts at making images higher quality with AI usually look off putting.

 

[Susikatze]

Othram posted a new picture of him to the DNASolves page (it appears to be what the AI enhanced image was based on). I actually really like that they did this because I think the attempts at making images higher quality with AI usually look off putting.View attachment 591891

No wonder he so easily passed for Hawaiian - he looks multiracial, African American with a Native and/or European admix.
I wonder how he spiraled down so quickly from fame to being an UID who was likely homeless or transient

 

[The4TierBridge]

No wonder he so easily passed for Hawaiian - he looks multiracial, African American with a Native and/or European admix.
I wonder how he spiraled down so quickly from fame to being an UID who was likely homeless or transient

I don’t think he was homeless or transient.

The timeline for him is he left for a business trip to Albuquerque from Pueblo, Colorado on September 7, 1992 (somebody must have been around to remember the date) and never came back. On May 28, 2001 his skeletal remains were found buried in a shallow grave and covered in multiple layers of quicklime and he was estimated to have been dead for years. The picture of him also looks pretty close to the age he would have been when he disappeared (61 years old).

MOO: Also noting that the information about him having allegedly worked for the mafia as a hitman was removed from the DNASolves article a couple days after it was posted. Possibly because investigators are looking into it in connection with his murder? I feel like that lines up with how his body was found.

 

[LordMo]

No wonder he so easily passed for Hawaiian - he looks multiracial, African American with a Native and/or European admix.
I wonder how he spiraled down so quickly from fame to being an UID who was likely homeless or transient

his wrestling career was mostly in Europe and from before national TV wrestling was a thing, and his imdb page (as Kimo Mahi) shows him as only having a handful of bit parts and one-off appearances in B movies and TV shows. It might be as simple as he retired with modest, mostly-regional fame and went into other fields of work, where he eventually met the wrong people.