MN MN - Goodhue, Unidentified Body of elderly white man found in unmarked grave in 1984.

[Richard]

Could this man have been a victim of - or at least hastily buried because of - Prohibition Era (1919-1933) illegal alcohol activity?

Here are a couple of recent articles about Minnesota during Prohibition:

The lessons of Prohibition in Minnesota

One hundred years ago today the 21st Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, the first line of which read: "The eighteenth article of amendment to the...

www.americanexperiment.org

How Minnesota farmers kept booze flowing during Prohibition

Mobsters became famous for bootlegging, but smaller moonshine operations dotted the countryside.

www.startribune.com

 

[Richard]

It would be nice to have an artist's conception drawn or sculpted to see what he might have looked like. Putting a face to the man would be a good step toward learning who he was.

Perhaps DNA testing of the remains would lead to some answers as well.

 

[Richard]

This case is now an active one being worked by the Goodhue County Sheriff's Office. The remains were located in storage at Hamline University, where they had been sent for study in 1984. They were returned to the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's office, along with all files, and chain of custody documents last month.

Perhaps DNA testing will be done as with two previous long time unidentified doe cases which were solved by the Goodhue County Sheriff Office in 2022.

LINK:

Identified! - MN - Red Wing/Old Frontenac, infant siblings: Jamie (Fem/UP4795/Nov'99) / Cory (Male/UP4794/Dec'03) *Mother Arrested*

This case bothers me a great deal, and has had little to no attention here- I've only found a side mention of it in a very old post about a similar, unrelated case in the same area. On November 4, 1999, fishermen discovered the body of a newborn baby girl was found near the docks on the shore...

www.websleuths.com

 

[carbuff]

Oh I hope so!

 

[Richard]

It has now been 40 years since this Unidentified man was found buried in a sitting position.

His shallow grave was located very close to a farm house in rural Goodhue Township, Goodhue County, Minnesota.

Initial autopsy results in 1984 indicated that it was the body of a white man, between 60 and 70 years of age, who stood 5 feet 3 inches tall. His left femur had been broken and healed many years before his death, and that old injury probably caused him to walk with a limp.

His teeth were in poor condition, with many missing, and no fillings or dental work evident. At some time - perhaps shortly before death, he suffered a broken nose.

A difficult factor in this case is lack of evidence which might establish an accurate date of death, or at least a way to narrow down a period of time in which death and burial occurred.

The remains consist of a complete skeleton, which has been carefully stored under proper conditions at the Hamline University Anthropology Department, and has now been transferred back to the Medical Examiner's Office of Hennepin County for further testing and analysis.

Meanwhile, a special investigator with the Goodhue County Sherrif's Department has been assigned to the case.

 

[Richard]

Bumping this thread up...

 

[Richard]

This case is not currently included on Minnesota's official clearinghouse of Missing and Unidentified Persons. Perhaps it would generate wider interest and possibly useful information if listed.

 

[Richard]

Knowing how to care for and handle horses was an important skill set in the early 20th century for anyone working a farm. This Goodhue farmer has added two mustangs to his team of draft horses to do much of the needed work.

 

[Richard]

It has been 40 years since this Unidentified man's body was found.