CA CA - Los Angeles, WhtMale, UP4453, UCP91568, 40-60, ‘Bob’ tattoo, Mar’76 - Robert Joe Secrest

[Coffee56]

3086UMCA

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Date of Discovery: March 25, 1976
Location of Discovery: Long Beach, Los Angeles County, California
Estimated Date of Death: 1976
State of Remains: Decomposed
Cause of Death: Unknown

Physical Description
Estimated Age: 40-60 years old
Race: White
Sex: Male
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 128 lbs.
Hair Color: Unknown
Eye Color: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Distal left index finger was missing. Tattoo of "Bob" on right calf, tattoo of a girl's head on left thigh, tattoo of a girl's head on left forearm, tattoo of a black bar on left upper arm, tattoo on left chest above nipple, tattoo on inner right arm, taytoo on upper right arm.

Identifiers
Dentals: Not available.
Fingerprints: Available.
DNA: Not available.

Clothing & Personal Items
Clothing: None.
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown

Circumstances of Discovery
At 12:45 PM, the decedent was found on the beach at Shoreline Drive and Locust Avenue in Long Beach, CA. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigating Agency(s)
Agency Name: Los Angeles County Coroner
Agency Contact Person: Betsy Magdaleno
Agency Phone Number: 323-343-0512
Agency E-Mail: idunit(at)coroner.lacounty.gov
Agency Case Number: 1976-3915 / John Doe 53

Agency Name: Long Beach Police Department
Agency Phone Number: 562-570-7288
Agency Email: LBPDHomicide(at)longbeach.gov
Agency Case Number: 767612817

NCIC Case Number: U763201546
NamUs Case Number: 4453
Former Hot Case Number: 1402

Information Source(s)
NamUs

Admin Notes
Added: 2/11/09; Last Updated: 5/29/19

 

[iulia]

The NamUs page for this UID is down.

 

[iulia]

He was identified via fingerprints on 05/17/2022 as Robert Joe Secrest, aka Joe Robert Secrest, John Franklin Secrest. He is now #UCP91568.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

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

www.namus.gov

 

[annemc2]

Wow. ID'd by fingerprints from 1976 or before. I wonder how this went down?

RIP Bob.

 

[MadMcGoo]

Wow. This is the first time I’ve seen an UID identified and then immediately become an UCP. Incredibly sad.

Well Bob, I hope you’re resting peacefully and someone claims you soon. In the meantime you’ve got us thinking of you.

 

[Springrain]

Wow. This is the first time I’ve seen an UID identified and then immediately become an UCP. Incredibly sad.

Well Bob, I hope you’re resting peacefully and someone claims you soon. In the meantime you’ve got us thinking of you.

Sorry, what's an UCP?

 

[Tuck]

Sorry, what's an UCP?

I'm pretty sure a UCP refers an unclaimed person (i.e. someone who has been identified, but has not been claimed by relatives).

 

[MadMcGoo]

I’m guessing he had been arrested a time or two since the identification was made with fingerprints. And he’s got aliases listed on NamUs. Joe Robert Secrest and John Franklin Secrest.

 

[Springrain]

I'm pretty sure a UCP refers an unclaimed person (i.e. someone who has been identified, but has not been claimed by relatives).

Thanks! Not sure why I didn't realize that from context. Facepalm lol

I’m guessing he had been arrested a time or two since the identification was made with fingerprints. And he’s got aliases listed on NamUs. Joe Robert Secrest and John Franklin Secrest.

Do you think they just recently ran the fingerprints and then found out his ID? I would hope they wouldn't wait that long but I think you're right at least so far.

 

[wary]

Thanks! Not sure why I didn't realize that from context. Facepalm lol


Do you think they just recently ran the fingerprints and then found out his ID? I would hope they wouldn't wait that long but I think you're right at least so far.

Here’s something that I think MIGHT be a possibility. They said at the first that they had fingerprints, but they also said that his body was ‘decomposed.’

So, perhaps they had damaged fingerprints? Enough that if they had a possible match whose fingerprints had been taken, they could do a manual comparison. But, not enough that they could run through the old automated system?

And now, I believe that computerized systems can do wonders in matching up ‘fingerprint fragments?’ So, maybe they were looking through their old files, and ran him through again?

Entirely my speculation—if this isn’t possible I’ll be glad to be corrected.

 

[MadMcGoo]

I’m very curious about the fingerprint match. Maybe we’ll learn more. Hopefully someone will claim him.

 

[Friday Fan]

If he was still alive and was at the estimated age, he would now be between 86 and 106 years old. So maybe locating next of kin is a bit of a challenge.

 

[Bit of hope]

If he was still alive and was at the estimated age, he would now be between 86 and 106 years old. So maybe locating next of kin is a bit of a challenge.

I tried to find some family links but couldn't find it yet. Yes, it's a challenge. It's save to say his parents are no longer around. He might have had children, but I couldn't find that either. Maybe he was estranged from his family for a long time. I'm curious how far, LE/coroner or anybody else having a task in this, goes in searching for next of kin. Or don't they?

 

[Bit of hope]

Was this man a homicide victim? I noticed this was the contact info: Agency Email: LBPDHomicide(at)longbeach.gov
This man was found quite close to a gay bar called "Club Ripples" situated on 5101 E Ocean Blvd, Long Beach, CA 90803 in the 70's where Kraft used to pick up victims. Could Kraft have deviated from his usual victims/Modus Operandi?

Still no (convincing) info about his birth, family, marriages on Familysearch and My Heritage. I found a marriage record of a John F. Secrest (dob apt. 1929) in Los Angeles County, CA in 1971, divorce 1972, but I'm not sure if this could be him.
The AKA's are making thing difficult, but he must have been born somewhere

 

[Bit of hope]

There is hope for the Long Beach cold cases. Cold case team focuses on cracking cases

In a file room at Long Beach Police Department headquarters, two retired detectives from the Cold Case Unit scour hundreds of old murder cases, searching for DNA evidence.

Each file represents the possibility of closure for family members who have waited decades to find out who killed their loved one.

“There’s a lot of cases here where the people just need to be tracked down,” said Detective Mike Dugan.

The department’s Cold Case Unit was reinstated in 2009 with help from a federal grant to support funding for DNA analysis on open murder cases, many of which occurred before the 1990s when DNA technology wasn’t around.


The department consists of two retired detectives – Dugan, who retired in 2008 after 27 years with LBPD, and Bryan McMahon, who retired in 2012 after 28 years with the department. The duo works part time two days a week to crack cold cases with DNA and other evidence.

A case is considered “cold” when it hasn’t been solved and detectives have no further leads.

Since 2009, the detectives have submitted 90 cases for review in the FBI’s DNA database known as CODIS (Combined DNA Index System). Of those, 11 cases have resulted in arrests and charges filed by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. In six cases, the suspects were already dead. And in 14 cases, detectives have developed a suspect profile.

The unit’s success in solving cold cases has helped to boost the department’s homicide clearance rate in recent years. The clearance rate is calculated by the number of crimes committed that year compared with the number solved. An annual clearance rate can include crimes committed in previous years.

etc.