Identified! IL - Cook Co, BlkMale, 20-30, Tats: Cleveland 216, Rubber City Boy 330, NFL, Jun'15 - Michael Rogers

[Claireishere]

Thanks for sharing how he was ID'd.
It adds to my belief that there can never be too much coverage on missing person and unidentified remains cases, cuz all it can take is that one person seeing it.

I wish we knew what the post was. I reached out to so many people and got so many people sharing his post. I’m so happy he has his name back. So he was military!!!

 

[JerseyGirl]

Got another email from the Akron Beacon Journal reporter. She says she is “going to do a follow-up story on this”!

She has already reached out to family. Will keep all of you posted.

Here it is:

Tattooed remains found in 2015 in Chicago ID'd as missing Akron man

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

An article featuring interviews with his family just came out:
Tattooed remains found in 2015 in Chicago ID'd as missing Akron man

Thank you so much for sharing, UnlicensedPI!

Ms. Warsmith is indeed the reporter I have been in touch with. She did a great job of telling Mr. Rogers’ life story, as well as investigating what may have caused a delay in the identification of the remains, IMO.

I find the following portion of the article particularly interesting (and also somewhat discouraging, or even troubling, IMO):

“A passer-by noticed a body floating in Lake Michigan off East Ohio Street in Chicago on July 10, 2015.

[SBM]

Investigators later told family members the body had been in the water for several months, which made the man’s facial features impossible to distinguish.

This contributed to an error that may have delayed the identification of the remains. An anthropologist who examined the body thought the deceased man was either white or Asian, which turned out to be wrong. (Michael Rogers was African-American.) The incorrect racial information was included in the remains’ description and used for a drawing of the man.

‘It was anthropological exam,’ said Natalia Derevyanny, a spokeswoman for Cook County. ‘The features of one race or ethnicity can be similar to the features of another race or ethnicity.’

The coroner entered the information on the remains and submitted the man’s DNA to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), but got no matches with known missing persons.

The case, though, wasn’t forgotten.

[SBM]

The Ohio Center for Missing Persons featured the case on its Facebook page in November 2018. The post drew a great deal of interest.“

Here is a link to the FB post that’s being referred to:
Ohio Center For Missing Persons

There are a couple of very interesting comments by KR (or KRO) from six weeks ago, or on Nov. 21st to be exact. They are found under a comment JS made eight weeks ago, or on Nov. 8th. The second comment KR posted in brought tears to my eyes. If it weren’t for all the shares on FB, it would have taken even longer for Mr. Rogers’ remains to be identified, IMO.

There are a couple of things I find almost disturbing with regard to the investigation: If it was “impossible” in their opinion to discern the decedent’s facial features, what was the sketch based on? Also, according to the article, there was a DNA test performed. Wouldn’t the results show that the man was indeed of African-American descent?

 

[Alleykins]

I know CarlK does some of his work based off of photos of the decedent and their skulls.
I agree misidentifying him as Asian delayed his identification.

OT: I also found it interesting they were able to make a positive ID from his dental records from the Navy. I don't know if it's still an issue, but there was a family in RI who were having difficulty retrieving their missing son's dental records from the military, due to privacy reasons. They had a potential match for their son to a set of remains where only dentals could be used. Not even an act of congress could get them to be released for comparison, as they enlisted the help of their Senator, who tried to advocate on their behalf, to no avail. The military said it was because their son might not be deceased, and he could go missing if he wanted. Unless they knew something the family didn't.

 

[Gardener1850]

An article featuring interviews with his family just came out:
Tattooed remains found in 2015 in Chicago ID'd as missing Akron man

The sketch and the photo of Michael for comparison:

Keep in mind that the above photo is of Michael when he was 15 years old but he was 31 when he died. I think the sketch artist got his facial features mostly correct except for the incorrect race identification. I'm shocked to learn that the cause of death was drowning. Based on the photos I saw I thought he had possibly been shot in the face. That's how bad it looked, for anyone who didn't see it. And that he was in the water for months is also surprising-- it's amazing there was anything left of his tattoos to see, although the skin around his tattoo photos was also very gross and graphic. The water must have been very cold to preserve him. Skin changes color in death so coroners cannot go by skin tone when determining race. They have an anthropologist examine the skeletal features of the skull to guess at a race based on the shapes of the nose sockets, eye sockets and teeth-- it is an imperfect science IMO and is why they are sometimes wrong. DNA analysis of genetic origin might have been more helpful in this case. This case is a good lesson not to ignore possible matches based on race mismatch. Although it sounds like Michael was never reported missing so we never would have found a match in our missing person database searches. It was due to the wonderful people who kept reposting his tattoo sketches on social media that he was identified. To those who were so diligent at getting his photos and sketches out there, Well Done!

From the article:

About Michael
Michael Rogers was born in Cleveland but moved to Akron when he was very young.
He was one of nine children and one of only two boys in the family.

Michael, who would have been 31 now, attended Mason Elementary School, Goodrich Middle School and Garfield High School, where he played football.

Arlene Rogers remembers many good times with Michael and her other siblings, attending festivals, taking trips and going to the movies.

“He was a great brother,” she said.
Shortly after his graduation in 2006, Michael joined the Navy.

Arlene said Michael left the Navy in 2014 and returned to Akron where he visited with his mother and several siblings. She said he then moved to Chicago for a job he got through a Navy buddy.
Arlene last talked to her brother when he arrived in Chicago.
“He seemed like he was doing OK,” she said. “He was trying to get on his feet, spending time with old friends. He seemed all right.”

Michael didn’t have a phone number, email address or social media account, so family members didn’t have a way to reach him.

Arlene said they frequently asked each other, “Have you heard from him?” No one had.

Tattooed remains found in 2015 in Chicago ID'd as missing Akron man

I wonder why his job and his Chicago friends didn't notice when he disappeared? So sad.

You won't be forgotten now, Michael. Thank you for your service in the Navy. RIP.

 

[leilarose68]

Is there any way we can change his race in the title of this thread to 'African American'? In the article posted above his sister mentions she was upset by the incorrect racial identification.

I understand if not, because obviously he was thought to be asian at first, but maybe it would be a nice gesture to his family and memory to correct it.

I hope this article greatly increases the donations to the , it's sad they have to put in the effort to fundraise at this difficult time

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

I hope this article greatly increases the donations to the , it's sad they have to put in the effort to fundraise at this difficult time

RSBM for focus.

That was one of the reasons I suggested a follow-up story. $6,500 is a lot of money.

I see that close to $1,000 has been raised in the last 15 hours, and so many people -a former teacher, a fellow football player and others- have been sharing their memories with “Mike.” Clearly, he was much loved. I hope that he will be brought home very soon.

 

[Alleykins]

The military will help pay for a little bit, I found this:

If the veteran is buried in a VA national cemetery, some or all of the cost of transporting the deceased may be reimbursed. For a non-service-related death, the VA will pay up to $300 toward burial and funeral expenses and a $300 plot-interment allowance for deaths on or after December 1, 2001.

Hopefully, the family will reach if they haven't already.

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

The military will help pay for a little bit, I found this:

Hopefully, the family will reach if they haven't already.

This is great, Alleykins!

Would you mind if I forwarded the information to Ms. Warsmith to be passed along to the family?

 

[leilarose68]

I didn't know that the VA covered so little when the veteran's death is non service related... that's unfortunate. Maybe they would make an exception for this unique situation, the exhumation seems to be very expensive

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

I just received an email from Ms. Warsmith.

She writes that she is “very interested in missing persons cases, so, if you come across any others from the Akron area, please let me know.“

She can be reached at swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com.

 

[Claireishere]

For some reason for me Michaels case has been one I was really attached to and spent a lot of time working on this case. Oddly last year when helping my mom unpack Christmas stuff I found a Small Ferris wheel ornament from the Navy pier in Chicago that my mom got while attending my brothers navy graduation. Since I knew our John Doe was found near the navy pier I took the ornament home with me and hung it on my Christmas tree this year and last year as a rememberance of the John Doe we were all trying to identify. It will be nice when the Christmas decorations come down next year to pull down that ornament and know the name attached with that memory.
I knew from early on seeing his tattoos that it looked like he may have been a bit wild as a teenager but the fresher tattoos looked like he had turned the page and gone on to better things. I hope his family is able to raise the money needed to get Michael back home.

 

[Claireishere]

The sketch and the photo of Michael for comparison:

Keep in mind that the above photo is of Michael when he was 15 years old but he was 31 when he died. I think the sketch artist got his facial features mostly correct except for the incorrect race identification. I'm shocked to learn that the cause of death was drowning. Based on the photos I saw I thought he had possibly been shot in the face. That's how bad it looked, for anyone who didn't see it. And that he was in the water for months is also surprising-- it's amazing there was anything left of his tattoos to see, although the skin around his tattoo photos was also very gross and graphic. The water must have been very cold to preserve him. Skin changes color in death so coroners cannot go by skin tone when determining race. They have an anthropologist examine the skeletal features of the skull to guess at a race based on the shapes of the nose sockets, eye sockets and teeth-- it is an imperfect science IMO and is why they are sometimes wrong. DNA analysis of genetic origin might have been more helpful in this case. This case is a good lesson not to ignore possible matches based on race mismatch. Although it sounds like Michael was never reported missing so we never would have found a match in our missing person database searches. It was due to the wonderful people who kept reposting his tattoo sketches on social media that he was identified. To those who were so diligent at getting his photos and sketches out there, Well Done!

From the article:






Tattooed remains found in 2015 in Chicago ID'd as missing Akron man

I wonder why his job and his Chicago friends didn't notice when he disappeared? So sad.

You won't be forgotten now, Michael. Thank you for your service in the Navy. RIP.

The water was incredibly cold. I don’t remember where or how far back I posted it but I researched the temps on the lake that year and it was so intensely low. Plus he probably intially sank after the first day or two in and the cold at the bottom is that much more significant and it wasn’t until the water began to warm that he resurfaced which is likely while he was so well preserved. I also thought he had been shot in the face as well but I now recall a case in Dauphin Island Alabama where a man threw his children off a bridge and when found most animal activity had occurred on their faces.

 

[Al Ka]

Is there any way we can change his race in the title of this thread to 'African American'? In the article posted above his sister mentions she was upset by the incorrect racial identification.

I understand if not, because obviously he was thought to be asian at first, but maybe it would be a nice gesture to his family and memory to correct it.

I hope this article greatly increases the donations to the , it's sad they have to put in the effort to fundraise at this difficult time

I have PMed mods to change the head title of the thread.

 

[Gardener1850]

I just received an email from Ms. Warsmith.

She writes that she is “very interested in missing persons cases, so, if you come across any others from the Akron area, please let me know.“

She can be reached at swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com.

Neal Boware is a missing Akron man that could use more attention:
OH - OH - Neal Boware, adult, Akron, 24 July 2006
Neal is half Asian/half African-American and we talked about him possibly being this UID.

There is also an Unidentifed man found in a burned out Akron house in 2016: OH - OH - Akron, WhtMale UP16005, 30-55, in vacant house, Jan'16

 

[leilarose68]

Neal Boware is a missing Akron man that could use more attention:
OH - OH - Neal Boware, adult, Akron, 24 July 2006
Neal is half Asian/half African-American and we talked about him possibly being this UID.

There is also an Unidentifed man found in a burned out Akron house in 2016: OH - OH - Akron, WhtMale UP16005, 30-55, in vacant house, Jan'16

I emailed her all the relevant Akron cases listed on NamUs I hope she does articles on some of them

 

[Owutatangledweb]

It can't really be ironic that this Navy veteran was found off Navy Pier, can it? Makes me wonder if he was depressed.

 

[Sherwood Park]

The military will help pay for a little bit, I found this:

Hopefully, the family will reach if they haven't already.

His body needs to be exhumed. It sounds as if this is one of the issues. The Navy doesn't mention anything in the quote about paying to have bodies exhumed.
I hope they raise enough money, this must be so painful for them knowing where he is and not being able to afford to bring him home.

 

[Sherwood Park]

Is there any way we can change his race in the title of this thread to 'African American'? In the article posted above his sister mentions she was upset by the incorrect racial identification.

I understand if not, because obviously he was thought to be asian at first, but maybe it would be a nice gesture to his family and memory to correct it.

I hope this article greatly increases the donations to the , it's sad they have to put in the effort to fundraise at this difficult time

I think it was the brother (?) who also said that he knew it had to be his brother but he was thrown off because the person was identified as Asian.
I think that's what's bothering them is that it caused a delay in identifying their loved one. But yes, it would be good to change it on WS in case they ever visit this site.

 

[Al Ka]

Head title has been changed now by mods to black male.