Identified! AZ - Vernon AZ, WhtMale UP5081, 35-50, found in wooded area, Oct'08 *Lawrence Edward Knoblauch/Rockafellow

[DNAhawkshaw]

"Vernon Arizona John Doe 2008"

Location: Apache Co. AZ
Race: White
Sex: Male
Est Age: 35-50
Height: 5'6"
Weight: Unknown
Found: Oct 24, 2008
Circumstances: DoD likely months. Found in wooded area. Soft tissue present. Socks, pants, underwear, and a braided leather belt were found near the remains.

Unidentified Person / NamUs #UP5081

View NamUs unclaimed person case UCP5081 for -- -- missing from Vernon, Arizona. Date body found: Oct 24, 2008. NCMEC case number: --.

namus.nij.ojp.gov

 

[DNAhawkshaw]

Doe Network

2333UMAZ

 

[iulia]

His NamUs page is down at the moment. This was published a few days ago and it sounded like they were close to identify him:

Newsroom | Pima County, AZ

Search and filter news and information, including press releases for all Pima County departments, programs, agencies, offices.

www.pima.gov

For more than 15 years, little was known about the man whose nearly skeletal remains were found in the woods of Vernon, a small community in Apache County, in October of 2008.

Aside from what clothes the man was wearing, the circumstances surrounding the man’s identity and cause of death remain a mystery.

But it could be a matter of weeks before law enforcement and the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner (OME) finally know the man’s name.

Dr. Bruce Anderson, an OME forensic anthropologist, said about 10 cases like this man’s have been resolved at the OME thanks to investigative genetic genealogy (IGG), the process of using DNA from direct-to-consumer companies, such as 23andMe, Ancestry.com and GEDmatch, to identify human remains and solve violent crimes.
Anderson said the OME partners with agencies like the DNA Doe Project and Moxxy Forensic Investigations.

“A lot of manpower – and a lot of womanpower – goes into this. It’s the best new tool,” Anderson said.

 

[iulia]

@DNAhawkshaw congratulations!!

[Case Resolution] Remains found in Vernon, Arizona in 2008 identified as Lawrence Edward Knoblauch/Rockafellow

DNAhawkshaw and Intermountain Forensics (IMF) announce the identification of Lawrence Edward Knoblauch/Rockafellow.

www.intermountainforensics.com

Intermountain Forensics (IMF) joins our partners DNAhawkshaw, the Pima County (Arizona) Office of the Medical Examiner, and the Apache County (Arizona) Sheriff's Office in announcing that remains located on October 24, 2008, in Vernon, Arizona, have been successfully identified as Lawrence Edward Knoblauch/Rockafellow. His cause of death is currently undetermined, and the investigation is ongoing. More information regarding this case, or to support other cases like it, can be found here: Identified - Vernon Arizona John Doe.

 

[victoriarobinson642]

I'm seeing a lot of records for him in Michigan and Florida. I wonder what brought him to AZ.

 

[PinkButtercup]

RIP Larry

Pima County Medical Examiner's Office solves 2008 cold case thanks to public genealogy