houndpounder
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Oct 12, 2017
- Messages
- 462
- Reaction score
- 1,863
Odd, Namus doesn't even have this Unidentified in their Hawaii listings, although if you click on an old link it comes up.
Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
Such good news that things are moving along.
Well, here is the latest from Alaska Shipwrecks. We now know where the suit was sold.....
“The KOMONews.com from 11/22/2015 reports the Bayley survival suite was sold by the “old Tacoma Marine Supply” now closed. The reporter for KOMO News spoke with Don Jacobsen, the son of the man who owned the Marine Supply. The records of the purchase seem to be unavailable. I attempt to contact Lindsey Cohen through KOMO and found he/she had left their employ about a year ago. KOMO was unable or unwilling (understandably based on my cold call) to provide contact information to Cohen for me. Seattle / Tacoma is a very common source of supply for the Alaska fisheries and many who fish Alaska waters live or are based in Seattle area. I am actively seeking surviving family from the Hellion, Norel, Gemini, Commander & Cory P. and I’d sure like to get the word out in the Seattle area in an appropriate way. If dental records can be located that would be most helpful and DNA profiles of closest living relatives may also lead to BB’s identity.”
Looks like the Bayley suit is a dead end unless someone finds Bayley warranty info from the factory. I don’t think the DNA will help Bill but if I had a missing relative I would want my DNA in the system so that if remains were found somewhere there would be a chance of ID.
Grasping at straws now, but we may yet get a hold on one......
"Nancy, this was posted on my Alaska Shipwreck web site: Edward Festor,This thread indicates that Clifford Stigall is NOT a match, although this is not listed on NamUs. So close, though, down to the orange Bayley exposure suit, proximity to Tacoma, and maxillary injuries.
Alaska Recent Maritime Losses 1972-2009
If the suit was manufactured in 1979, and the body was discovered in 1982, that is a very, very tight window for that to happen, at least in Alaska. And to have the exposure suit on board a boat, it would be a colder climate/water, and to be bought in Tacoma, it would probably be an American or Canadian boat/individual. The boat would also have gone down or been abandoned with sufficient warning for the suit to be donned--not someone washed overboard. This has always seemed like such a long shot to me to figure out who he is, but, the more I find out about it, it really is a very narrow pool.
"Nancy, this was posted on my Alaska Shipwreck web site: Edward Festor,
Could you let “Nancy Drew RN” on Websleuths know that Clifford Stigall is still a potential match and his sibling’s DNA is being profiled by the Alaska State Troopers Missing Persons Program. Todd Stallings was not wearing a survival suit when he abandoned ship, only a life jacket. He perished a few feet away from me so I know he is not Barnacle Bill. Aaron Goin from the Hellion is also has a relatives’ DNA being worked up by the Troopers. Keep in touch. Wally Thomas.
(Thank you for passing this along Warren!)" The author was Wally Thomas who is the last living survivor of the Saint Patrick disaster in which 10 crewmembers were lost. He is helping to try to identify the possible identity of Barnacle Bill.
If there is DNA available from Bill, this is a major game changer! GEDmatch can now be used to find close genetic relatives, and forensic genealogists then pinpoint the identity, at least that’s the plan....The following is an excerpt from a post (July 11, 2018) by shipwreck survivor Wally Thomas on my Alaska Shipwreck web site. "... you might let Nancy Drew RN and the group over know that the Alaska State Troopers Missing Persons Clearinghouse told me that the Honolulu County Medical Examiner informed them that some tissue samples from Barnacle Bill were preserved or least the file indicated that. We are all hopeful that these samples can be located and DNA extracted once the 2 profiles now being worked become available. Still a number of months, 6 to 12, probably before we know more. " Progress is slow but ongoing.