Identified! MO - Charleston, WhtMale Skeletal UP14540, 20-60, burned on farm, Jul'79 - Harry (surname withheld)

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Unidentified Person / NamUs #UP14540

ME/C Case Number: FA1979-01

Demographics:
Sex - Male
Race / Ethnicity - White / Caucasian
Estimated Age Group - Adult
Estimated Age Range (Years) - 20-60
Estimated Year of Death - 0-1979
Estimated PMI - Months
Height and Weight - Cannot Estimate

Circumstances:
Type - Unidentified Deceased
Date Body Found - July 18, 1979
NamUs Case Created - December 2, 2015

Location Found:
Location - Charleston, Missouri
County - Mississippi County

Circumstances of Recovery:
These remains were discovered on a farm near Charleston, MO and later transferred to the Southeast Missouri Regional Crime Lab in Cape Girardeau. The initial anthropological investigation in 1979 identified the decedent as a female, but more recent analysis (prior to rediscovery of accompanying records) suggest male cranial morphologies. Because of this discrepancy, it might be useful to compare both male and female missing persons. The remains were burned and highly fragmented. Desiccated soft tissue adheres to hands, forearms, and parts of the cranium. Investigators at the time of discovery suggested that burning happened subsequent to desiccation, and ongoing analysis is addressing this further. Various items were found in the crime lab box with the remains, but it is unclear whether or how these items relate to the case.

UPDATE-- Male sex DNA confirmed by University of North Texas (7/6/16)

Condition of Remains:
Not recognizable - Near complete or complete skeleton

Physical Description:
Hair Color - Sandy
Head Hair Description - Light brown/dark blonde hairs located with the remains
Left Eye Color - Unknown
Right Eye Color - Unknown

Accessories:
- parts of a styrofoam container (resembling a restaurant "take-out" box)
- a house style key
- Old, blank form labeled as being from the Marquette Cement Company
- small, rectangular, rusty metal canister bearing traces of what appears to be an eagle emblem
Near the Body

Clothing:
- white shoelace
Near the Body

Case Contributors:
Jennifer Bengtson, Forensic Anthropologist
Work - (573) 651-2354
Email - jbengtson@semo.edu

Southeast Missouri State University
Address -
1 University Plaza
Cape Girardeau, Missouri 63701
County - Cape Girardeau County
Main Phone - (573) 979-3069

Contact NamUs:
The Regional Program Specialist contact for this case is Allen Neal
Phone - (682) 347-8829
Email - Allen.Neal@unthsc.edu
 
Southeast Missouri State University Anthropologist Partners with Othram for Identification of Human Remains

Human remains recovered in 1979 in Charleston, Missouri, receive renewed attention at Southeast Missouri State University and serve as an invaluable learning tool for today’s advanced approaches to human identification and cold case resolution.

THE WOODLANDS, TEXAS (PRWEB) FEBRUARY 14, 2020

Othram, the leading forensic sequencing laboratory for law enforcement, is working with an anthropologist from Southeast Missouri State University to use forensic genealogy to help identify human remains found on a farm in Charleston, Missouri, in 1979.

Associate Professor of Anthropology at Southeast Missouri State University, Jennifer Bengtson, inherited the case when she joined the faculty in 2012. The highly fragmented remains were burned and unidentifiable through traditional testing methods. Bengtson committed herself to establishing an identity for the remains and also wanted to leverage this case as a learning opportunity for her students. She and her students reopened the case and began the process of reanalysis for age, sex, ancestry, and stature. In 2015, the case was entered into NamUs, a national information clearinghouse and resource center for missing, unidentified, and unclaimed persons across the US. In 2016, a bone sample was sent to the University of North Texas for CODIS testing, but with no successful hit to a known identity.

As Bengtson heard more about the growing success of forensic genealogy in solving cold cases, she decided to incorporate these tools into her analysis of this case and educational program.

“The more I started to hear about forensic genealogy in the news, the more I thought these methods could help with this case,” Bengtson commented. “One of the things that I emphasize to my students is that they need to learn to work and communicate with specialists from a variety of disciplines.”

Bengtson started a donation page to raise funding for the project and decided to partner with Othram for Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing™ to reconstruct a genome from the remains. Othram’s forensic genealogy team, led by Anthony and Lee Redgrave, will provide genetic genealogical research support and allow Bengtson’s students to be part of the investigative process.

“We are excited to assist on such a challenging case,” David Mittelman, Othram CEO commented, “our lab specializes in reconstructing genomes from heavily degraded and contaminated evidence.”

Anthony Redgrave, whose doctoral work in Transformative Leadership in Education focuses on forensic genealogy education and training for law enforcement, developed a virtual classroom experience for Bengtson’s students. Bengtson’s students will use the virtual classroom to stay involved in the identification effort. He has also created a depiction of what the deceased may have looked like in life, using digital compositing and painting techniques. Redgrave worked with photos of the deceased’s skull and partial mandible to make the image. “I hope that putting a face to these remains will help the public to connect with the case and possibly even jar someone’s memory about this man,” Redgrave stated. “Forensic art is also very helpful in forensic genealogy cases because having a good depiction of an unidentified individual can be a good clue to researchers.”

Donations to the Southeast Missouri State University Anthropology’s efforts to investigate this case can be made here.

About Othram Inc.:
Othram is the world’s first private DNA laboratory built specifically to apply the power of modern parallel sequencing to forensic evidence. Our scientists are experts at recovery, enrichment, and analysis of human DNA from trace amounts of degraded or contaminated materials. We are passionate about developing and deploying new genomic technologies in dedicated forensic environments. Founded in 2018, and located in The Woodlands, Texas, our team works with academic researchers, forensic scientists, medical examiners, and law enforcement agencies to achieve results when other approaches failed. Follow Othram on Twitter @OthramTech or visit Othram (http://request.othram.com) to learn how we can help you with your case.

About Southeast Missouri State University:
Southeast Missouri State University is a comprehensive university with numerous national and international academic accreditations. In addition to offering more than 145 undergraduate majors, 100 minors and more than 75 graduate programs, Southeast continues to focus on staying ahead of changing market demands. With nearly 11,000 students, Southeast is an ideal size to take advantage of critical learning and extracurricular opportunities.
 
Help Anthropology Club Identify Human Remains – Southeast Missouri University Foundation Crowdfunding

About the Campaign
The Anthropology Club is seeking to raise $3000 to pay for forensic genealogy services to identify a set of human remains recovered from an agricultural field in Charleston, Missouri, in 1979. Forensic genealogy is a new approach to human identification using GEDmatch, a repository of DNA profiles voluntarily submitted by the public in an effort to connect with biological relatives. Most DNA profiles from unidentified decedents are entered into a database called CODIS, which analyzes only a small segment of DNA and is only useful if the decedent or a first degree relative was required by the criminal justice system to submit a DNA sample. Forensic genealogy utilizing GEDmatch analyzes a much larger portion of the genetic sequence and allows for the identification of more distant relatives. When a relative is identified, their family tree is reconstructed using traditional genealogical research methods in an attempt to identify a missing person in the family who can then be compared to the unidentified decedent.

The remains in question are those of a male, likely middle aged and possibly of European ancestry. His mostly skeletonized remains were burned and highly fragmented, although the skull and forearms are largely intact with small amounts of adhering soft tissue. Initial reports were generated in 1979, but the case went cold until the remains were inadvertently “rediscovered” by Dr. Bengtson and her students. They created a biological profile for the decedent, entered his information into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NAMUS.gov case #14540), and submitted a sample for CODIS DNA testing to the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification. DNA extraction was successful, but there were no hits in the CODIS database.

Forensic genealogy has been applied successfully to solve cold cases as old and complicated as ours (see Lavender Doe and Belle in the Well cases, for example). These cases and others were solved by a forensic genealogy organization called DNA Doe. Two of the researchers from that organization have started their own organization called Redgrave Research (they are also still affiliated with DNA Doe, and were involved in both of the cases linked above). I have decided to use Redgrave Research for this case because of their enthusiasm for allowing students to be part of the investigative process. While the research will predominately take place elsewhere, Redgrave Research has offered to create a private online forum and repository for information/findings and to act as a primary communication forum as the geneticists and genealogists work through the case. The students added to the group will be able to observe the process and interactions among the specialists and will be able to ask questions and get answers directly from the experts. Othram, a Texas-based forensic genomics firm, will conduct the genetic sequencing. This project will thereby serve not only to potentially solve a cold case and bring closure to a family but will also provide an invaluable opportunity for students to learn about cutting edge approaches to human identification.

Terry Parker, Mississippi County Coroner, is fully supportive of this effort.
 
charleston_mo_john_doe.jpg

Source: DNASolves
 
From our Facebook page, Othram Inc.:

We have been working with Dr. Jennifer Bengtson, Ph.D, Associate Professor from Southeast Missouri State University and her Anthropology students to identify human remains found on a farm in Charleston, Missouri in 1979 (NamUs UP14540). The John Doe’s remains were burned and his DNA was highly degraded. Fortunately, the our forensic genomics lab was able to reconstruct a full genome sequence from the remains and build a genealogy kit. Lee Bingham Redgrave & Anthony Lukas Redgrave, lead genealogists at Othram, led the forensic genealogy effort. They were assisted by Dr. Bengtson and her students, who were able to participate in the forensic genealogy process as an educational experience to augment their previous work on this case.

We are thrilled to announce that we have made a tentative identification with a high degree of confidence and official DNA confirmation is pending. His name will not be announced as of this time. Our hearts are with his family as they process this news and plan for the next steps.

More updates to follow soon!
 
othram said:
From our Facebook page, Othram Inc.:

We have been working with Dr. Jennifer Bengtson, Ph.D, Associate Professor from Southeast Missouri State University and her Anthropology students to identify human remains found on a farm in Charleston, Missouri in 1979 (NamUs UP14540). The John Doe’s remains were burned and his DNA was highly degraded. Fortunately, the our forensic genomics lab was able to reconstruct a full genome sequence from the remains and build a genealogy kit. Lee Bingham Redgrave & Anthony Lukas Redgrave, lead genealogists at Othram, led the forensic genealogy effort. They were assisted by Dr. Bengtson and her students, who were able to participate in the forensic genealogy process as an educational experience to augment their previous work on this case.

We are thrilled to announce that we have made a tentative identification with a high degree of confidence and official DNA confirmation is pending. His name will not be announced as of this time. Our hearts are with his family as they process this news and plan for the next steps.

More updates to follow soon!
Click to expand...
Great work, Othram!
 
othram said:
We are thrilled to announce that we have made a tentative identification with a high degree of confidence and official DNA confirmation is pending. His name will not be announced as of this time. Our hearts are with his family as they process this news and plan for the next steps.
More updates to follow soon!
Click to expand...
That is fantastic @othram Is the intention that this project continue onto other unidentified remains?
 
othram said:
Here is the final update for NamUs UP14540:
DNASolves
Click to expand...
Absolutely amazing! And thrilling to say the least!

“Thank You” doesn’t seem to be enough to say to the pioneers in this field, but it’s appropriate. I’m so glad to know there is more hope where there used to be none, and that Harry’s able to have his name back. My thoughts are with his family.

I’m excited to see what’s in store for Othram and the unidentified people they are able to identify in the future!
 
Awesome work, Othram! Congratulations and may you have many more success stories in your quest to identify the nameless. Prayers for Harry's family and friends. May he rest in peace.

DNASolves

Othram, the leading forensic sequencing laboratory for law enforcement, is pleased to announce the identity of human remains found on a Charleston, Missouri farm in 1979.

Snip

Upon identification of the deceased, it was learned that his death was not a homicide, and as such, his family has a right to maintain their privacy. His family has asked that his full name not be released, but they have generously allowed us to share part of his story. He went by the name Harry and was in his mid-30s when he drowned in the Mississippi River. His death was known to his family and authorities, although his remains were never recovered. Significant flooding in 1979 resulted in Harry’s remains washing up on a farm downriver within a year of his death. His remains were likely burned incidentally as a result of a routine field maintenance before they were ultimately discovered by the farmer. He remained unidentified for 41 years before Othram and Dr. Bengtson’s team were able to finally identify him and contact his family
 
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