FL FL - Tampa Bay, WhtMale 1321UMFL, 15-25, Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Oct'80

[carbuff]

There's so I little to go on with this one! Brown hair, eyes, no distinguishing features... I wonder how they determined 15 as their lower bracket. With his height, weight, and the fact that it sounds like they are describing peach fuzz on his upper lip, he seems like he could be younger. I wish there was a postmortem picture.

They can use a number less obvious physical characteristics, such as bone structure, growth plates in the long bones, how many adult teeth there are, what the condition of the wisdom teeth is, etc.

 

[carbuff]

I wonder how scars appear after being submerged?

Also I wonder how big the scar was that was on Brian's arm?

Just thinking out loud...I wish there were better ways to rule someone out other than a scar!

According to Brian's Namus entry, he doesn't have dentals, fingerprints, or DNA entered, so that's about all they can go on.

 

[Jake479]

Is there anyway to exhume the John Doe's body to gather DNA?

 

[Jake479]

Frank Johnston resembles this John Doe, but his height and weight is off.
View attachment 85515View attachment 85516View attachment 85517
charleyproject.org/cases/j/johnston_frank.html

 

[Vital Forces]

This guy may be worth looking into.

Wilson Mickler
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/m/mickler_wilson.html

 

[Sleuthster]

Kippling Hess would have been 13 though. http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/199dmfl.html

 

[Jake479]

Bumping

 

[sonz82]

Douglas Rubin?http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/r/rubin_douglas.html

 

[Jake479]

Frank Johnston resembles this John Doe, but his height and weight is off.
View attachment 85515View attachment 85516View attachment 85517
charleyproject.org/cases/j/johnston_frank.html

 

[MaryG12]

http://www.wtsp.com/news/local/the-darkside-of-the-sunshine-skyway-bridge/441172625

Must be the design of the bridge.

That, plus the boat accidents into the bridge doesn't help.

I've driven over the Skyway a few times - it is a long bridge at 4.14 miles. And it is a toll bridge, too.

http://www.greatest-unsolved-mysteries.com/sunshine-skyway-bridge.html

Hopefully this young man will be brought home soon.

 

[ohthatkatgirl]

'Young Man Found Dead Near Skyway' - Tampa Bay Times, Oct 11th 1980.

 

[Sleuthster]

'Young Man Found Dead Near Skyway' - Tampa Bay Times, Oct 11th 1980.

This article lists him as 20's or 30's, older then what other sources say. Interesting.

Edit- Also said he's about 5'8 instead of 5'3-5'5

 

[Sleuthster]

If you go a little older, taller, This guy disappeared just a couple months before from Pinellas and looks similar. https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/10418/29/
https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/11285/31/
This guy looks a lot like him but family received letter beginning of Nov 80 allegedly from him saying he was going away for a while. https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/20826/34/

 

[ivonne]

John David Higham
883DMCA - John David Higham

 

[PropaneYeeter]

Bumping.

The Doe Network says "Tooth 25 M labial version". Forgive my ignorance, but does anyone have an idea of what this means? Did he have work done on this tooth?

 

[theshadow45]

This John Doe has been unidentified for 39 years today.

 

[PropaneYeeter]

RIP.

 

[coffeeandacig]

Bumping.

The Doe Network says "Tooth 25 M labial version". Forgive my ignorance, but does anyone have an idea of what this means? Did he have work done on this tooth?

I'm just guessing, but I think it means his lower front right tooth was protruding towards his front lip. It was stated that his teeth may have been crowded.

 

[carbuff]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Exclusions:

MP12546 Mark Collman 04/03/1979 Kendall IL
MP4569 John Colonna Aponte 05/05/1974 -- PR
MP932 John Dial 07/01/1985 Childress TX
MP4615 Michael Gaughan 07/20/1975 El Paso TX
MP4541 Alfred Grimes 12/14/1968 Monterey CA
MP14013 Rodney Grissom 05/24/1977 Linn OR
MP26394 Frank Johnston 09/30/1980 Kenai Peninsula AK
MP37160 Stephen Lund 08/04/1979 Hillsborough FL
MP4543 Phillip Montoya 03/29/1974 Alameda CA
MP4665 Robert Parks 04/11/1974 Maricopa AZ
MP1712 Randy Sellers 08/16/1980 Kenton KY
MP4 Mitchel Weiser 07/27/1973 Sullivan NY

 

[BigKeyManatee]

'Young Man Found Dead Near Skyway' - Tampa Bay Times, Oct 11th 1980.
View attachment 131261

Thanks for posting this!
The article tells us that the Doe’s body was found in the shallow waters near the north end of the bridge span.

Found on the Doe’s NCMEC page:
University of South Florida | International Consortium for Forensics, Anthropology, and Human Rights
This link from the University of South Florida’s Forensics Department specifies that fishermen found the body near Marker 7 in the Intercoastal Waterway.

I located a 1977 NOAA chart and confirmed that the main channel markers are the same configuration today as they were when the Doe was found in 1980.

There are are two different “Marker 7’s” in the shallow waters near the bridge’s north end, one on the east side of the bridge, and one on the west. Even though it is closest to the Skyway I am ruling out the west side marker (entrance to Frenchmen’s Creek) because I think that this is a Sunshine Skyway Channel marker, not ICW. Happy to be corrected if I’m wrong.

Boca Ciega Bay Day Beacon “7” is just to the south of Point Pinellas and several miles east of the Skyway. Certainly it a good distance from the bridge’s central span, which is the highest point and the place most jumpers choose.

All this to say that I agree with @anneonymous and @FL Wannabe that there is poor evidence that this young man was a Skyway jumper. There are too many other ways he could have entered the water and expired. Not saying it can *never* happen but the average person cannot plunge from 180’ (or 60’ or 20’) into the bay without some noticeable external injuries.

Just offering my opinion and hope that this young person can regain his name.