PA PA - Bedford, 'Mr. Bones' WhtMale 30-35, 585UMPA, 30-06 rifle, gold dental wk, camping equip, Oct'58

[Yaya]

Thirty eight dollars in 1958 money would be worth a couple hundred dollars in today's dollars.

Still, it seems more like a suicide than a murder/robbery. If someone had wanted to rob him, they would have taken his money, rifle and ammunition - I would think.

You're right... that would have been a large amount back then.

This was the first case I posted on here at WS and I guess it will never leave me. I have always thought this was a suicide.

 

[poppypetals]

http://www.starbeacon.com/statenews/cnhinsall_story_047132559.html

 

[Bluecat]

Full text from above:

Unsolved murder lingers five decades


By KATHY MELLOTT
THE TRIBUNE-DEMOCRAT (Johnstown, Pa.)

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. —
“Mr. Bones” probably won’t be buried anytime soon.
The skeletal remains of the unidentified man – nicknamed “Mr. Bones” by police – have been stored in Bedford County, Pa., for nearly half a century.
Three years ago this month, state police released a composite sketch of what the man likely looked like at the time of his disappearance.
Despite numerous inquiries, no one has given him a name or shed light on this long-unsolved mystery.
“We received calls from all over the country and everything we received we have checked out,” said Trooper Joseph Kovel. “But we still have not been able to identify him.”
Kovel is lead investigator for what authorities believe is an unsolved murder.
Most of the inquiries have been about distant relatives who went missing, Kovel said.
People have called about a missing parent, or recalling someone else talking about an uncle or cousin who could not be located, he said.
The decomposed body was discovered about a mile north of the Bedford Borough line near the Midway Plaza of the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Bedford Township.
Based on its condition, authorities speculate the man was killed in 1956. His remains were in a marshy area.
A crew installing a natural gas pipeline through Bedford County in 1958 made the grisly discovery.
Lying in the vicinity of the dead man was a book of classic literature, a book of poetry, a shaving kit, camp stove, gun and ammunition.
The remains were sent to an FBI crime lab, where forensics experts pieced together enough of the skull to determine the man had a forceful lantern jaw and a thick shock of brown hair.
But all the information compiled about “Mr. Bones” still has authorities no closer to unlocking the mystery of who he is.
He had received extensive dental work, including a gold tooth, and wore contact lenses, relatively new technology for the period.

*********************************************
Text that goes with the reconstruction posted on the site as follows:

On October 9, 1958, the decomposed body of a white male was found in a wooded area along the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Bedford County. The unidentified person may have been deceased for up to a year prior to his death. He may have been a drifter for some time prior to his death. This subject could have been missing or his location unknown to family anytime from 1955 to 1958. Personal items found with the body indicate that he may have had some connection to the states of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

The subject was wearing plastic contact lenses. He had extensive dental work with a bridge and gold crown on the upper right side. He was wearing black engineering boots, blue denim jeans, wide black leather belt, and black leather motorcycle type jacket with zipper pockets.

Personal items found with the body with a model 721A, 30-06 Springfield rifle, brown canvas backpack, canteen, clothing, camping and cooking equipment, and books of poems. The subject's black wallet contained $38.00 and a brass key stamped "Active 195 Ave A" on it.

All identifying labels were removed from the clothing and he had no form of identification on him. Although he had extensive dental work during his life, he had not had any dental care for approximately two years prior to death. A DNA sample has been obtained for possible use in making identification.

Age: 30-35 years
Height: Approx. 6'4"
Weight: 175-200 lbs.
Hair: Brown
DNA Available

IF YOU KNOW OF ANYONE WHO DISAPPEARED BETWEEN 1955-1958, WORE CONTACT LENSES AND MATCHES THE PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION, PLEASE CALL THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE POLICE AT BEDFORD.
*********************************************

So, given that they now say that the area where he was found was marshy, it sounds less likely to have been a campsite and more like a dump site to me. That also makes it seem less likely to have been a suicide. Maybe he fell in with a biker gang in the last couple of years before his death?

I uploaded the photo here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8303688@N02/499583256/
It had been captioned:
“Mr. Bones” died of a gunshot wound to the head. The serial number on the rifle was traced to a Fort Wayne, Ind., gun shop.

 

[monkalup]

I'm sorry to inform you that Weldon Kees is not this John Doe.
The Doe Network has this information. Mr. Reidel has spoken with members of the Doe Network in past years.

I think it would be great if the Doe Network would post updates for people who have been ruled out and make this a public section on their site.

We have a small submitted and ruled out database on Porchlight that you are welcome to see here
http://z10.invisionfree.com/usedtobedoe/index.php?showforum=39

Please feel free to share whatever info you like from Porchlight's *database*

 

[anthrobones]

bumping him up

 

[Stella]

Has Ronald Tammen been ruled out? He looks like such a good match.

 

[Richard]

It has been 49 years since this man was found, along with his rifle, camping supplies, and books. Still no identification for him.

Just a few days ago, I stopped at the Bedford, PA highway rest stop near where died. The place has not changed that much in all this time.

By a strange sort of coincidence, I happened to be transporting a rifle and several boxes of ammunition - and I had some books with me as well. It was quite late and the weather was nice, but I decided against making camp there!

Maybe next time.

 

[Richard]

This man was found dead in October 1958, but the best estimates of his death would put it about six months prior to the date of discovery. It was quite possible that he had been traveling by motorcycle prior to his death.

That would make his death date about April 1958. I wonder if there might be some increased interest in the case with this anniversary year.

 

[anthrobones]

Bumping up

 

[littlehorn]

Not hard to cary it if he had a scabbard to put it in, or if he had a case for it, and strapped it on securely. But it certainly would have been difficult to ride around like that without raising citizen and police suspicions everywhere he went.

And what would he do with it every time he had to stop for food or something? He couldn't just leave it in a parking lot.

I have noticed an ongoing theme that people are saying it would have been hard to hitchhike, etc. with a rifle.

My family going back several generations lived in the Bedford area. Grandpa and grandma are buried in Pleasantville, and dad grew up there.

In the 1950's it was nothing for folks to be walking around with a gun like that (hunting rifle) especially a former military '03 Springfield, since so many of them were produced.

It would be very easy for him to have not raised any suspicion as Bedford was, and still is, a small town.

Dad has a great story of when he and grandpa were out small-game hunting one day. They drove past the State Correctional Facility at Rockview. Grandpa turned the big white 1964 Caddy into the lane and drove up to the gate. The guards checked the car and its contents (two shotguns and two .22 caliber rifles), without surprise.

When the guards asked who they were there to see, grandpa replied "Who do you have?"

They left without seeing anyone, but the point is, back then it was "have gun, will travel."

Dad remembers bringing his .22 to school as a middle-schooler in Johnstown/Bedford area.

 

[Richard]

I have noticed an ongoing theme that people are saying it would have been hard to hitchhike, etc. with a rifle.

...the point is, back then it was "have gun, will travel."

Dad remembers bringing his .22 to school as a middle-schooler in Johnstown/Bedford area.

... yes, life as it ought to be. Unfortunately, times and attitudes have changed in some ways.

I never brought any of my guns to school, but I did make a gun rack for them in 9th grade shop class, and I used to run home from the school bus every day during hunting season to change into my outdoor clothes and take my shotgun and dog to the fields before it got dark.

Just a point of clarification regarding "Mr. Bones'" rifle: Although the Doenetwork and early posts in this thread described it as a "Springfield Rifle", that was evidently only a sort of generic name meaning that it was a bolt action type. I spoke with the officer working this cold case, and he described it to me as a Remington Model 721A in 30-06 caliber.

The Remington 721A (a civilian hunting rifle) was introduced in 1948 and last manufactured in 1962. These dates do not support a statement made in one of the posts which dated the rifle to 1939. It was, in fact, a fairly new rifle at the time of this young man's death (1958). Documents indicated that it was origionally purchased in Fort Wayne, Indiana, but no records were kept back then as to who that origional retail purchaser was. The date of that purchase is also in question.

 

[littlehorn]

... yes, life as it ought to be. Unfortunately, times and attitudes have changed in some ways.

I never brought any of my guns to school, but I did make a gun rack for them in 9th grade shop class, and I used to run home from the school bus every day during hunting season to change into my outdoor clothes and take my shotgun and dog to the fields before it got dark.

Just a point of clarification regarding "Mr. Bones'" rifle: Although the Doenetwork and early posts in this thread described it as a "Springfield Rifle", that was evidently only a sort of generic name meaning that it was a bolt action type. I spoke with the officer working this cold case, and he described it to me as a Remington Model 721A in 30-06 caliber.

The Remington 721A (a civilian hunting rifle) was introduced in 1948 and last manufactured in 1962. These dates do not support a statement made in one of the posts which dated the rifle to 1939. It was, in fact, a fairly new rifle at the time of this young man's death (1958). Documents indicated that it was origionally purchased in Fort Wayne, Indiana, but no records were kept back then as to who that origional retail purchaser was. The date of that purchase is also in question.

Dad is a collector of old PA Game News magazines, and there is one he has from that era where a couple of young men write about going on a hunting trip elsewhere in the state and -- get this -- taking their guns with them aboard the train. Not boxed, just walking onto the train.

Must have been pretty cool.

The 721A would have been a pretty nice rifle, in keeping with this guy's economic status -- contact lenses, gold dental work, etc.

 

[kline]

This one has always facinated me.
Partly because its one of those ones where I feel there is ALOT to the back story.Just a feeling.I hope we find out someday.
Everytim I read the original story it prompts the question"OK no robbery but where the hell is his motorcycle since he's dressed like an extra from the 'Wild Ones'?
However the amount of gear he was camped with may proclude him traveling by bike.

 

[littlehorn]

This one has always facinated me.
Partly because its one of those ones where I feel there is ALOT to the back story.Just a feeling.I hope we find out someday.
Everytim I read the original story it prompts the question"OK no robbery but where the hell is his motorcycle since he's dressed like an extra from the 'Wild Ones'?
However the amount of gear he was camped with may proclude him traveling by bike.

It always amazes me when something like this happens that NO ONE notices that this guy has disappeared.

I can almost understand when a runaway becomes an underage prostitute or falls victim to violence -- no one has heard from them, so as far as the family knows, they have just run away and disappeared.

But here's someone who obviously had money, likely had a job, family, a house/apartment, etc.

When the boss calls Monday because he never showed up for work, what happens? When the rent comes due or the taxes on the house or whatever, what happens?

When he misses his next scheduled dental appointment, what happens?

It's like no one can put two and two together. It's amazing to me that someone can just vanish and not leave any kind of physical presence besides what he took with him into the woods.

 

[kline]

I know its absurd but evertime I ponder this case I think 'OK its a time traveler who thought it would be approriate to dress like one of the cast of 'Grease' since he was going to the 1950's.' Case closed.

 

[littlehorn]

I know its absurd but evertime I ponder this case I think 'OK its a time traveler who thought it would be approriate to dress like one of the cast of 'Grease' since he was going to the 1950's.' Case closed.

LOL, so he was the Terminator, perhaps? Sent from the future...

 

[kline]

LOL, so he was the Terminator, perhaps? Sent from the future...

Yes,Ive got it all figured out,he was pursuing Jack The Ripper through time who also gained access to HG Well's time machine by the way.
He interupted and very nearly caught him at Penn State in 1969...
Or perhaps ive been drinking too much coffee and need to take a nap.
*sigh*....if only his future Cyborg handlers has installed that Hunter's Safety Course Chip..
(I am So going to hell for this post.feel free to disregard.)

 

[rozey]

I spoke with the current Case Officer about the contact lenses. They were made in Chicago, and also prescribed for the patient by a doctor there. Unfortunately, by the time cold case investigators tried to find the doctor, they learned that he had died, but they did locate and speak with the doctor's widow. She told them that before her husband had died, he sold his business, and transferred to the new owners all records. Subsequent searching by detectives, however, indicated that none of the doctor's patient records survive today. So Chicago, ILL does play a part in the mystery, but it is not known how long the man was associated with that city.


snipped

Question: How did they know the lenses were prescribed by a Dr. in Chicago? What am I missing? How did they find that information without knowing the patient's name? What kind of ID marks would be on the lenses? There were Dr's in other states prescribing contact lenses couldn't they have been purchased from the Chicago munufacturer? sry if I missed this discussion , I searched before posting and didn't see this Q & A.

 

[Richard]

Question: How did they know the lenses were prescribed by a Dr. in Chicago? What am I missing? How did they find that information without knowing the patient's name? What kind of ID marks would be on the lenses? There were Dr's in other states prescribing contact lenses couldn't they have been purchased from the Chicago munufacturer? sry if I missed this discussion , I searched before posting and didn't see this Q & A.

I posted the above information after having spoken with the officer in charge of the cold case investigation. I do not know exactly how they determined who the doctor was, but evidently, they did. Contact lenses were not as prevalent or popular in 1958 as they are today. They were rather rare and expensive.

I am not sure if there were some kind of markings on the lenses themselves that helped to trace them, or if maybe it was something much more simple, like a case or container for the lenses which had the doctor's name and address attatched.

The problem that investigators had is that the eye doctor was not sought until some years after the young man's body was found, and by that time the doctor had sold his business and died.

This case is now 50 years old and still unsolved.

 

[rozey]

bump..........