Yes, this is the correct rifle. It wasn't available until 1948. Therefore, it could not have been sold in Ft. Wayne in 1939. Other early reports listed it as a Springfield sold in 1939. I believe it was "Richard" from Websleuths whom spoke to LE which corrected the rifle as being a "721" previously in this thread.
PA PA - Bedford, 'Mr. Bones' WhtMale 30-35, 585UMPA, 30-06 rifle, gold dental wk, camping equip, Oct'58
- Thread starter Richard
- Start date
Odd one,
I don't recall ever seeing anyone saying anything about the model/ year of production on here. But I belive you.
I want to add that: They wouldn't have traced it by model #
It would be by serial number.
Perhaps they meant 1949??? I don't know what to make of that.
Regardless, they didn't pull the original point of sale out of their @$$. They must have run that down.
I don't recall ever seeing anyone saying anything about the model/ year of production on here. But I belive you.
I want to add that: They wouldn't have traced it by model #
It would be by serial number.
Perhaps they meant 1949??? I don't know what to make of that.
Regardless, they didn't pull the original point of sale out of their @$$. They must have run that down.
In the end, we all just want to see this solved. Be it Connor or whomever. So we have that much in common. I should probably open my mind to the possibility it's someone other than Connor. But my God the coincidences between the RF/ Connor episode that Magnum pit together
are compelling.
are compelling.
You may be right but I just don't see those "coincidences" as being reasonable. There are so many other things that could have happened. I personally think he will turn out to be a city dweller who may have had a bad turn of fortune money wise. The cheap camping equipment he seems to have purchased in NYC and clothes not suitable for camping could mean he was out of funds and trying to thumb his way back to Chicago or somewhere else.
Still thinking.
The leather jacket should have had a label in it.
Too bad that jacket is not available for inspection.
Wonder what happened to it.
It's probably in the barrel/drum with the rest of his stuff.
Ozoner
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It isn't a bad thought because there were probably more clothes sold with local or regional department store labels than with national labels back then, but I have to think that the police would have already looked into that.
Magnum P.E.
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I was told years ago by the trooper in charge of the case (long retired) that they no longer had that jacket. Nice things like that have a way of finding new homes, I think.
if anyone is familiar with an actual motorcycle jacket (not one styled to look like one), they are heavy, hot in the heat and cold in the cold. It is road rash protective equipment. Not something for camping or hiking.
I think we are hung up too much on the impossible 1939 sales date for the rifle. Well, the Ft. Wayne sales point did not come out of nowhere, and since Remington was consulted on the rifle in 1958, I would say it probably came from them. Since 1939 is impossible, I think it was likely a typo.
They do DNA on Egyptian mummies. It surely could be done on Mr. B. It doesn’t even require an exhumation. It just requires the State Police to have DNA taken and forensic genealogy done.
It has been Mr.B’s turn in the barrel for far too long.
I posted the following information about the rifle in post number 291 to this thread on 6 June 2008:
"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 originally purchased in Fort Wayne, Indiana, but no records were kept back then as to who that original retail purchaser was. The date of that purchase is also in question."
The Remington 721A that Mr. Bones had with him was chambered for the .30-06 Springfield cartridge.
LINK: Remington ~ Model 721A ~ .30-06 Sprg.
"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 originally purchased in Fort Wayne, Indiana, but no records were kept back then as to who that original retail purchaser was. The date of that purchase is also in question."
The Remington 721A that Mr. Bones had with him was chambered for the .30-06 Springfield cartridge.
LINK: Remington ~ Model 721A ~ .30-06 Sprg.
John/Jane Doe
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Hey @Caring1 by any chance are they still the same exclusions?4 Missing Person Exclusions:
Missing Person / NamUs #MP32941Othel Johnson
Date of Last ContactJanuary 01, 1956
StateNM
CountyValencia
Missing Person / NamUs #MP33677Clarence Moore
Date of Last ContactJanuary 01, 1956
StateKS
CountyGeary
Missing Person / NamUs #MP19245Charles Conner
Date of Last ContactAugust 10, 1957
StateOH
CountyAllen
Missing Person / NamUs #MP15603Max Metcalf
Date of Last ContactOctober 07, 1958
StateWI
CountyGreen Lake
Caring1
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Yes, still those 4 exclusions are listed, nothing additional yet.
Besides the Remington .30-06 rifle and 3 boxes of ammunition, the crime scene was supplied with the following items:
- a leather jacket
- a bed roll
- a four-quart canteen
- a canvas backpack
- a few changes of clothes and towels
- a portable cook stove and utensils
- three books:
"100 Modern Poems", by Selden Rodman, "Reading Poems", and "Science and the Modern World" by Alfred North Whitehead.
- a Brass Key (stamped "Active 195 Ave A")
- Cash: $38 was found in a black wallet, and that $23 in crumpled bills was found in his pocket.
- a leather jacket
- a bed roll
- a four-quart canteen
- a canvas backpack
- a few changes of clothes and towels
- a portable cook stove and utensils
- three books:
"100 Modern Poems", by Selden Rodman, "Reading Poems", and "Science and the Modern World" by Alfred North Whitehead.
- a Brass Key (stamped "Active 195 Ave A")
- Cash: $38 was found in a black wallet, and that $23 in crumpled bills was found in his pocket.
Ozoner
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Those look like books that would be used in undergraduate college courses. If this guy was really 30—35, he might have going to college on the G.I. bill because that would have been a bit old for a college student.The books:
100 Modern Poems by Selden Rodman
"Science and the Modern World" by Alfred North Whitehead
There was a third book titled "Reading Poems". No further information on it.
Good possibility. He would have been of the age range of those who served during World War II or Korea.
TrustedTracker5097
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Such a shame this man still doesn't have his name back. The fact so many famous John and Jane Does have been recently identified through DNA testing gives me hope though. It's just a matter of the appropriate authorities giving genealogists the ability to work their magic. When the Boy in the Box was identified last year, I wanted to believe that this case would receive more attention since it's from the same time period and in PA as well.