Identified! MN - Beaver Creek Twp, I-90/Rock Co Rd, WhtMale 30-50, UP11523, in culvert, clothes, locket, Mar'81 - Louis Anthony Gattaino

[Damarna]

https://identifyus.org/cases/full_report/11523

Date found March 13, 1981 00:00

Estimated age Cannot Determine
Minimum age 30 years
Maximum age 50 years
Race White
Ethnicity
Sex Male
Weight (pounds) , Cannot Estimate
Height (inches) 67, Estimated
Body conditions
Not recognizable - Near complete or complete skeleton
Probable year of death 1980 to 1981
Estimated postmortem interval Months
Location Found: I90 and Rock County Rd 23 (Bridge 9687) Beaver Creek Twp, Rock County, MN

Remains found in a concrete culvert by a department of transportation worker tasked with unplugging the culvert. The ditch and culvert was last cleaned on 10-21-80 and no remains were noted at that time. Clothing appeared in in their appropriate positions on the skeletal remains.
Physical
Hair color /Head hair : None present-skeletal remains
Body hair : None present-skeletal remains
Left eye color Unknown or Missing
Right eye color Unknown or Missing
No other distinctive body features

Fingerprints Status: Fingerprint information is currently not available
Clothing and Accessories

Clothing and accessories are described below
Clothing on body:
Green cotton work type pants with leather type belt. Inseam 281/2 to 29 inches, waist 32 inches.
Boxer type mens underwear.
Clothing with body
Footwear - Leather slip on engineer type boots, light tan to white in color, size 8-9.
Four green socks (2 pairs within each boot)
Jewelry Small metal locket with a picture of a baby's face.
Other items found with body single black plastic comb.
Dental Status: Dental information / charting is available and entered
DNA Status: Sample submitted - Tests complete

 

[carbuff]

I think I've seen a missing person who fits this UID. Now to see if I can find him.

 

[Damarna]

I haven't had time to look. Hope you find him!

 

[creepedout]

Something is haywire with how this case is entered into Namus. When it is generated using the Lost and Found site, it shows that it is in Ramsey County - which is the St. Paul area - obviously incorrect.

http://tinyurl.com/h5ha4au

 

[creepedout]

Looking at Google maps, he was found right at exit one on I90, one mile from the South Dakota border, and the exit is for Jasper and Pipestone. He could be from anywhere.

Noticed this guy:

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/28853/

The height is right on, the age is a little low. Nothing very distinguishing to go on.

 

[carbuff]

Found him, and the timing is wrong. Ross Crane (http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/3898dmks.html) didn't disappear until 1982, after this UID was found. Oh well.

 

[Damarna]

Something is haywire with how this case is entered into Namus. When it is generated using the Lost and Found site, it shows that it is in Ramsey County - which is the St. Paul area - obviously incorrect.

http://tinyurl.com/h5ha4au

I received this email today:

NamUs Case # 11523 has had changes made. You can view the case by clicking the url below

URL: https://identifyus.org/cases/11523

The following fields have been changed:
Circumstances : County Found changed from "Ramsey" to "Rock"

Circumstances : City Found changed from "Beaver Creek Twp, Rock City" to "Beaver Creek Twp"

Circumstances : Address Found 1 changed from "I90 and Rock Cty Rd 23" to "I90 and Rock County Rd 23"

 

[creepedout]

OK, that explains things. The Lost and Found site hasn't scraped the new data yet, apparently.

 

[creepedout]

This case is the currently featured unidentified case on Doe Network. The wrong information noted above has been corrected on the Lost and Found site.

 

[Piknik]

The baby photo in the locket is interesting. I wonder why they haven't ever released that photo?

 

[GJKJR]

Bumping with some newspaper articles I found on this John Doe. I too find that baby picture detail rather interesting. I wish there was more information on that.

Star Tribune (Sunday, March 15, 1981)
- John Doe appeared to have been shot through the left side of the head with a bullet from a .38-caliber or .357-caliber gun.
- Found about 7 miles west of Luverne, Minnesota, near the MN-SD border at the intersection of I-90 and MN Highway 23.
- Billfold was found with the remains with the name "Thomas E. Bell;" *THIS WAS LATER CONFIRMED TO NOT BE RELATED TO JOHN DOE (see final clipping listed)*
- Initially, death was believed to have occurred from July and October of 1980.

Star Tribune (Tuesday, March 24, 1981)
- Initially, John Doe was estimated as a white male with a slightly more precise age range of 35-40 y/o. Height estimated at 5'6" to 5'8", wearing green pants and brown work boots, PMI of 4+ months.
- John Doe was thought to have been thrown in the culvert after being shot in the head.
- Various items were found near the skeleton (gold Benrus watch with an expandable band, Lebanese coin on a silver chain, small compass in a case). *Not confirmed if these items were related to John Doe.*
- The billfold had a partial address on it as well as the aforementioned name "Thomas E. Bell;" *THIS WAS LATER CONFIRMED TO NOT BE RELATED TO JOHN DOE (see final clipping listed).*

The Winona Daily News (Sunday, March 15, 1981)

The Winona Daily News (Tuesday, March 31, 1981)
- Date of discovery in this article conflicts with other sources (March 10 on this article vs. March 13 on NamUs and DoeNetwork).
- The "Thomas E. Bell" listed on the billfold was later found alive in Omaha, Nebraska. He claimed to have lost the wallet 6-7 years ago while riding in a taxi.

 

[GJKJR]

Cursory Check of NamUs for Potential Matches to "Rock County John Doe (Minnesota)"

NamUs #UP11523 (The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs))

DoeNetwork Profile 2269UMMN (2269UMMN)

==========================================================

1. Gordon Mason — NamUs #MP31123 (The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)) — 57 years old at time of disappearance, missing from San Francisco, California, since December 13, 1980

2. Harold William Melching — NamUs #MP34881 (The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)) — 37 years old at time of disappearance, missing from Adelanto, California, since October 1, 1980 (or September 8, 1980?)

3. William R Hennig — NamUs #MP7530 (The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)) — 34 years old at time of disappearance, missing from Daytona Beach, Florida, since February 4, 1981

4. Lindall Ray Benedict — NamUs #MP10691 (The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)) — 37 years old at time of disappearance, missing from Lansing, Michigan, since December 16, 1980

5. Roger Bruce Sandberg — NamUs #MP34807 (The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)) — 28 years old at time of disappearance, missing from Minneapolis, Minnesota, since November 1, 1980 (approximate)​

 

[MadMcGoo]

Refreshing the thread...

 

[carbuff]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

One exclusion:
MP37992 Victor Abeyta 05/05/1998 Mesa CO

The only agency listed is the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

 

[YaYa_521]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

One exclusion:
MP37992 Victor Abeyta 05/05/1998 Mesa CO

The only agency listed is the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

New rule out:
MP34807 Roger Sandberg 11/01/1980 Hennepin MN

 

[djanga]

Dna Doe Project will now work on his case, I hope it will be a quick solve!
Rock Co John Doe 1981 - DNA Doe Project Cases

 

[DSCrime]

Was checking up to see what WS thread had on DNA Doe Project's new case.

Thank you @GJKJR for this research

Star Tribune (Tuesday, March 24, 1981)
- Initially, John Doe was estimated as a white male with a slightly more precise age range of 35-40 y/o. Height estimated at 5'6" to 5'8", wearing green pants and brown work boots, PMI of 4+ months.
- John Doe was thought to have been thrown in the culvert after being shot in the head.
- Various items were found near the skeleton (gold Benrus watch with an expandable band, Lebanese coin on a silver chain, small compass in a case). *Not confirmed if these items were related to John Doe.*
- The billfold had a partial address on it as well as the aforementioned name "Thomas E. Bell;" *THIS WAS LATER CONFIRMED TO NOT BE RELATED TO JOHN DOE (see final clipping listed).*

As @GJKJR noted not all of these items found near John Doe's remains were confirmed to belong to him. But my question is about the Lebanese coin.

Are there any significant Lebanese communities in the Midwest?

 

[carbuff]

Was checking up to see what WS thread had on DNA Doe Project's new case.

Thank you @GJKJR for this research


As @GJKJR noted not all of these items found near John Doe's remains were confirmed to belong to him. But my question is about the Lebanese coin.

Are there any significant Lebanese communities in the Midwest?

One of my high school teachers was a Lebanese Christian from Minnesota. It turns out Minnesota has quite a sizable immigrant Lebanese population, dating back to the 1900's or earlier. I don't remember anything else he said about them, though.

 

[branmuffin]

Was checking up to see what WS thread had on DNA Doe Project's new case.

Thank you @GJKJR for this research


As @GJKJR noted not all of these items found near John Doe's remains were confirmed to belong to him. But my question is about the Lebanese coin.

Are there any significant Lebanese communities in the Midwest?

I was interested in the Lebanese coin, too. There are Lebanese communities all over the US. According to the map in the link there is a Lebanese community in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As far as I can tell the UID was discovered about 80 miles away from Minneapolis.

Lebanese Americans - Wikipedia

I also wondered if it was some kind of souvenir, maybe from a military member, since there had been a US presence in Lebanon during the 70s and 80s.

I've been on a website in the past that lists all US military personnel that have gone missing (not those related to MIA) but I can't find it right now.

 

[John/Jane Doe]

Rock Co John Doe 1981 - DNA Doe Project Cases