Identified! MS - Biloxi, UnkSex/Race Adult, UP78458, Skeletal on Roof of Building, Sep'19 - Gary Lee White

[Gardener1850]

BILOXI, Miss. (WLOX) - Officials are working to identify bones found on the roof of a building in downtown Biloxi.

Harrison County Deputy Coroner Brian Switzer said nearly a full adult skeleton was found in the 800 block of Barthes Street.

[...]

Officials do not suspect foul play, but conclusions will have to wait on the autopsy and forensic anthropologist examination.

Officials working to identify bones found on Biloxi roof

Harrison County Deputy Coroner Brian Switzer tells WLOX-TV that the bones were found Sept. 19 and are being examined by a forensic anthropologist.

Biloxi Police Maj. Chris De Back says officers have investigated cases of people reported as missing and concluded that none match what they know about the remains.

Most of a human skeleton found on a Mississippi roof

 

[PayrollNerd]

Well, that is odd. How can someone get to the roof but go unnoticed? No one smelled anything? Isn’t there routine maintenance on the building? There has to be a door that allows you to re-enter the building. This poor person wasn’t even reported missing.

 

[Gardener1850]

The reporter gives some additional details in the video at this link that are not in the written article: Officials working to identify bones found on Biloxi roof

A worker on the roof found the bones.

The bones were found towards the Southwest Corner of the roof.

The building is vacant.

It was a full adult skeleton.

The bones had been there "for some time" but they don't yet know how long.

They could not immediately tell if it is a man or a woman.

No Clothing or Shoes were found on the Roof.

A piece of a Tarp was found near the bones.

It's possible someone was using the roof for shelter.

No signs of foul play.

No missing persons that match yet. Police also checked with surrounding police department's for missing persons.

 

[Gardener1850]

Looking at Google Satellite Photos it looks like there might be a makeshift tent on the roof. Perhaps that is the tarp that was found? I circled it in red below:





Google Maps

 

[oceanstarryeyes]

The reporter gives some additional details in the video at this link that are not in the written article: Officials working to identify bones found on Biloxi roof

A worker on the roof found the bones.

The bones were found towards the Southwest Corner of the roof.

The building is vacant.

It was a full adult skeleton.

The bones had been there "for some time" but they don't yet know how long.

They could not immediately tell if it is a man or a woman.

No Clothing or Shoes were found on the Roof.

A piece of a Tarp was found near the bones.

It's possible someone was using the roof for shelter.

No signs of foul play.

No missing persons that match yet. Police also checked with surrounding police department's for missing persons.

No Shoes or Clothes found but a Body and a Tarp, sounds like someone was dead before being placed on the roof.

 

[KaylaraOwl]

That looks like a body in a tarp.

 

[JSolt1210]

Looking at Google Satellite Photos it looks like there might be a makeshift tent on the roof. Perhaps that is the tarp that was found? I circled it in red below:

View attachment 206960

View attachment 206961

Google Maps

That looks like a body in a tarp.

Oh wow yeah that totally looks like a body wrapped in a tarp! Creepy!!

Google Maps now allows you to see how certain areas have changed over time. We can go back in time, so to speak, and see the earliest time that object was present. I'm just getting into work so I haven't checked that yet.

ETA: Never mind! That feature seems to work only with "street view" and not "satellite view."

 

[Roxxi3535]

That looks like a female body to me. Wrapped up in the tarp, naked, top half of body exposed. Could this be missing woman, Alicia Lynn' Blair Ivy? Disappeared October 28th, 2018. Its two hours away from where she lived but I wouldnt expect them to dispose of her body nearby. I strongly believe she fell victim to gang violence.

MS - MS - Alisha Lynn Blair Ivy, 23, Clarke County, 28 October 2018

 

[Reasonable & Just]

Oh my

 

[bombardier]

looking on Google Maps, its crazy that no one saw the body or any commotion! its a one story building, and the body was right near the edge... there's a bit of a ledge around the roof, but still. it's also right across from a repair shop, and right next to some kind of trucking garage. Not the most populated part of town, but not all abandoned either.
The roof looks easily accessible as well, so you wouldn't have to get to it from the inside.


Also, the dark area around the figure...does it look like a shadow or like a spill? Because it really does seem like fluid leaking from the head region

 

[TatianaBarbie]

Looking at Google Satellite Photos it looks like there might be a makeshift tent on the roof. Perhaps that is the tarp that was found? I circled it in red below:

View attachment 206960

View attachment 206961

Google Maps

That is amazing that you noticed that, @Gardener1850, and thank you for posting it! The screen said map data copyright 2019. I wonder if there is a way to get a more exact dating of that image.

 

[PayrollNerd]

looking on Google Maps, its crazy that no one saw the body or any commotion! its a one story building, and the body was right near the edge... there's a bit of a ledge around the roof, but still. it's also right across from a repair shop, and right next to some kind of trucking garage. Not the most populated part of town, but not all abandoned either.
The roof looks easily accessible as well, so you wouldn't have to get to it from the inside.
View attachment 207090

Also, the dark area around the figure...does it look like a shadow or like a spill? Because it really does seem like fluid leaking from the head region View attachment 207092

The street view photo has April 2013. Is that the date for the aerial photo also? If that color around it is body fluids then that must be stained into the roofing material? Is it concrete? I wonder if it’s too degraded for a DNA sample.

 

[PayrollNerd]

I know some counties have property records online. The GIS maps are updated over the years. For example, when I was considering buying my home, I could see aerial flood maps from years ago and property maps up to present. It gave me a good idea of the age of the trees (big oaks) and when the fence was installed (7’ into my side). I’m wondering if this is possible there to pin down a timeline.

 

[spangled]

I guess, if you do smell something dead, you don't normally look upwards, in the bushes maybe, side of the road... how long would it last? Horrible.

 

[bombardier]

The street view photo has April 2013. Is that the date for the aerial photo also?

I downloaded Google Earth Pro to get the satellite image dates and the 'historical satellite' feature.
the figure has been on the roof for a long time. I think we should start looking for people who disappeared in the 2000s, possibly around 2005. Let me know what yall think!
Here it is on 1/5/2010.


9/17/2007 (here the dark spots look like water damage)


I believe its still there on 4/30/2006? (oh how far technology has come)



i cant decide on the pic taken on 7/11/2005 - i definitely see the stain, but I don't know if I see the body. The dark square shadow (?) on the bottom right is now a white structure.


the farthest back Google Earth has is 2/18/1992, taken during a Geological Survey. I honestly can't make anything out. The roof looks bright white and the structure on the left now looks dark - maybe the buildings were still in use and were being maintained.

 

[YaYa_521]

This profile has piqued my interest as possibly being this UID.

MS - MS - Brian Martin, 24, Biloxi, Dec 2000

Brian went missing in 2001. He was last known to be staying with friends but I read on a missing profile that he might have been homeless. His last known residence was only 13 min away. He had been affiliated with a gang out of Georgia. Apparently he ended up in MS after moving with his family who returned to GA while he stayed in MS. He's got quite an interesting profile which makes me wonder if this skeleton could be him.

 

[Quill]

I downloaded Google Earth Pro to get the satellite image dates and the 'historical satellite' feature.
the figure has been on the roof for a long time. I think we should start looking for people who disappeared in the 2000s, possibly around 2005. Let me know what yall think!
Here it is on 1/5/2010.
View attachment 207100

9/17/2007 (here the dark spots look like water damage)
View attachment 207101

I believe its still there on 4/30/2006? (oh how far technology has come)

View attachment 207103

i cant decide on the pic taken on 7/11/2005 - i definitely see the stain, but I don't know if I see the body. The dark square shadow (?) on the bottom right is now a white structure.
View attachment 207105

the farthest back Google Earth has is 2/18/1992, taken during a Geological Survey. I honestly can't make anything out. The roof looks bright white and the structure on the left now looks dark - maybe the buildings were still in use and were being maintained.
View attachment 207108

Wow. Great work!
A very important date in our history to remember is hurricane Katrina, August of 2005. There were and still are many missing and unaccounted for lost souls presumed dead. Mississippi had 238 known fatalities with many additional missing people. There was a 28 foot storm surge causing many people to take shelter on top of buildings and in attics. Some of those people swam to rooftops. The storm surge caused flooding as far as 12 miles inland in some places. I have no idea where this building is in relation to that storm surge, but I am wondering if this poor soul could have been a Katrina victim.

 

[Gardener1850]

I downloaded Google Earth Pro to get the satellite image dates and the 'historical satellite' feature.
the figure has been on the roof for a long time. I think we should start looking for people who disappeared in the 2000s, possibly around 2005. Let me know what yall think!
Here it is on 1/5/2010.
View attachment 207100

9/17/2007 (here the dark spots look like water damage)
View attachment 207101

I believe its still there on 4/30/2006? (oh how far technology has come)

View attachment 207103

i cant decide on the pic taken on 7/11/2005 - i definitely see the stain, but I don't know if I see the body. The dark square shadow (?) on the bottom right is now a white structure.
View attachment 207105

the farthest back Google Earth has is 2/18/1992, taken during a Geological Survey. I honestly can't make anything out. The roof looks bright white and the structure on the left now looks dark - maybe the buildings were still in use and were being maintained.
View attachment 207108

Wow! Thank you for the images @bombardier

That made me wonder how could a body on the roof go unnoticed by maintenance workers for so long? Perhaps the building has been vacant for a very long time and no one has checked the roof?

I found that the building was listed for sale about a year ago and the sale is "pending" on the Remax website: 875 Barthes St, Biloxi, MS 39530

Maybe the remains were only discovered because of workers inspecting the building as part of the finalization of the sale?

MOO.

 

[Quill]

I know some counties have property records online. The GIS maps are updated over the years. For example, when I was considering buying my home, I could see aerial flood maps from years ago and property maps up to present. It gave me a good idea of the age of the trees (big oaks) and when the fence was installed (7’ into my side). I’m wondering if this is possible there to pin down a timeline.

Sadly, the only timeline that is going to jump out at anyone from aerial photos of Biloxi will be Before hurricane Katrina and after hurricane Katrina.

 

[bombardier]

This profile has piqued my interest as possibly being this UID.

MS - MS - Brian Martin, 24, Biloxi, Dec 2000

Brian went missing in 2001. He was last known to be staying with friends but I read on a missing profile that he might have been homeless. His last known residence was only 13 min away. He had been affiliated with a gang out of Georgia. Apparently he ended up in MS after moving with his family who returned to GA while he stayed in MS. He's got quite an interesting profile which makes me wonder if this skeleton could be him.

hes a good possibility! Looking on NamUs for people from MS last seen between 2000 and september 2007, there are only two from Biloxi - Brian Martin (missing 2000) and an elderly man, Harold Elmhorst (missing 2005). Would be so much easier if clearer arial pictures were available around that time! I hope the MSPD has better historical satellite photos stored somewhere.