CA CA - Sierra Madre, WhtMale 772UMCA, 22-28, #44 football jersey, Jan'81

[CarlK90245]

The Doe Network:
Case File 772UMCA
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/772umca.html

Blue Football Jersey

Unidentified White Male

* The victim was discovered on January 5, 1981 in Sierra Madre, Los Angeles County, California
* Estimated Date of Death: The remains were likely at the location found in excess of one year.
* Partial Skeletal Remains

Vital Statistics

* Estimated age: 20 - 40 (most likely 20-29) years old
* Approximate Height and Weight: 5'8" (173 cm); weight could not be determined.
* Distinguishing Characteristics: White male. Blonde hair; eye color could not be determined.
* Clothing: The remains were found with a blue football jersey that had two stripes on the sleeve and the number “44” on the back of the jersey.

Case History
The victim was located in a riverbed in Sierra Madre, California on January 5, 1981.

 

[CarlK90245]

Ronald David Kruska

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/k/kruska_ronald.html

Kruska was a former football player at Saugus High School, so the football jersey would be consistent. Classmates.com does not have any Saugus HS yearbooks, but I checked the Saugus HS site, and found that their current football team wears dark blue jerseys.

His blonde hair also corresponds to that of the UID.

His age is slightly (but not excessively) low, and his height is within an inch.

There is no indication of which direction he was heading when his friend dropped him off at I-5, but Sierra Madre is only 40 miles southeast of the I-5 near Saugus

 

[tatertot]

I found this (2007?) article that says Kruska's siblings have given DNA and this match was being looked into, but the skeletal remains were "disposed of" and the jersey hadn't been found in the evidence room yet. It also says that although Kruska was #84 and a former coach didn't recognize the jersey, Kruska often wore athletic clothing so his siblings think there could be some connection.

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/DNA+TEST+COULD+SOLVE+MISSING-TEEN+MYSTERY-a0159974110

 

[Danaya]

What a sad case that is, I hope Ronald is found but sadly, he probably passed away as a young man with his whole life ahead of him.

People really need to be more careful with evidence, no matter how old it is.

 

[webrocket]

this UID will never be identified. they lost the jersey and disposed of the bones. I checked the Namus profile and it said there were no facial bones and therefore no dentals.

when they say disposed of the bones, I take it that they were not buried in a marked site.

tragic.

 

[Ambercat]

This is his page on NamUs --

https://identifyus.org/en/cases/4358

On NamUs, his age is estimated as being 22 - 28 years old.

 

[MadMcGoo]

Just came across this UID and Ronald’s case... very heartbreaking.

I checked classmates hoping yearbooks had been added for Saugus HS and there are a few. 1976 and 1978/9 are on there now. Ron is listed in the ‘76 book and I think I found him in a couple of places. One of the sports sections mentions the jerseys being black and white but they look an awful lot like the one found with the UID.

Who knows if these will ever be solved, if they are in fact related

Just wanted to refresh the thread and point out that there are now a few yearbooks available on classmates.com

The Los Angeles Daily News article from 2007 also shows to have been updated on August 29, 2017...

DNA Test Could Solve Missing Teen Mystery

 

[devertere]

This UID could also be Jesse James Balluff, who disappeared from Santa Monica (36 min by car) in January, 1980.
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

It sucks that we will never get an answer.

 

[John/Jane Doe]

772UMCA

 

[John/Jane Doe]

@Caring1 Hey could you post the current list of NamUs exclusions for this John Doe? I would greatly appreciate it.

 

[Caring1]

@Caring1 Hey could you post the current list of NamUs exclusions for this John Doe? I would greatly appreciate it.

0 Missing Person Exclusions

 

[John/Jane Doe]

I think William Denzel Newman could be a possible match:

3949DMLA - William Denzel Newman, Jr.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

His physical description seems to match.