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

[Eddie99]

Websleuths should have a betting app.

I'd put up $$ on magnum being correct.

 

[John/Jane Doe]

Could Dwane Roy Dreher be a possible match for "Mr. Bones"?

Duwane Roy Dreher – The Charley Project

5486DMIA - Dwane Roy Dreher

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

 

[Ozoner]

View attachment 402905

That isn't evidence that Conner is Mr. Bones. There no evidence that RF left Ohio.

Actually, the fact that RF was seen with bloody rags makes me think that he probably dismembered Conner.

RF's best bet for getting away from his crime was for Conner to never be found. It isn't logical that he would do what the theory suggests.

 

[Ozoner]

Websleuths should have a betting app.

I'd put up $$ on magnum being correct.

You'd lose. The theory is asinine.

 

[TrustedTracker5097]

Could Dwane Roy Dreher be a possible match for "Mr. Bones"?

Duwane Roy Dreher – The Charley Project

5486DMIA - Dwane Roy Dreher

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

He seems a likely candidate for me too. I remember looking into his case back in the day. Can't remember why I stopped.

 

[TrustedTracker5097]

You'd lose. The theory is asinine.

You've gotta admit though, it's a bit surprising that such a distinctive character as Mr. Bones didn't stick out to more people prior to his death. Based off the sketch, his estimated build, and his clothing the dude was a real-life B.J. Blazkowicz (hope I'm not the only one who sees the resemblance) and greaser combined into one person. A big dude you wouldn't want to mess with. Couple that with that fact he was supposedly carrying a rifle around with him and we have no indication that he owned a vehicle... You'd think someone would've given him a ride and been able to come forward with information about their encounter with him. All we have is the story of the police talking to a man with a rifle claiming to be on his way to Canada from Kentucky. I wonder if those officers gave any more detail than that in their original accounts.

 

[azure]

BIUBM
"Avenue A", is a street that runs through Manhattan. It would be near the edge of Greenwich Village (it was called the Alphabet Area. Styuvessant is around there too.) Back in that era, it was very diverse. The book of poetry, bedroll, and motorcycle jacket struck a chord, that took me there.

I wonder if someone made off with his vehicle/motorcycle? If a Veteran, he could have been motorcycling across the U.S. WWII saw a huge increase in motorcycling and taking trips on Route 66, or to get his contact lenses/dental work done by a specialist near Chicago. Also, it used to take WEEKS for contact lenses to be prescribed/fitted/made/ and then returned to your eye specialist.


I've read that Active, was stamped on some items, to denote "Active Service" in the military. Only some items were stamped, and only for a brief period between WWI and WWII, IIRC, to denote that they were service men/women who had the item. Unsure about keys.

In 1950 that amount of money on him was fairly significant. It would buy around $400 in goods, in today's world (2/2023).

Illinois had an eye institute for Veterans, in the 1950s, and World War II had a significant increase in dentistry in the military. Could he have had dental work, and eye care, done in/or after the military? If in the military, and a returning veteran, he could have even had injuries that required care from a Dentist, and/or Ophthalmologist.

A friend tried contacts, back in the 70s, and they were pretty expensive then ($2-300). The lenses were more rigid then, and uncomfortable for more than a few hours, so they switched back to traditional glasses. Contact lenses were used by very few until they became lighter and easier to fit, later in the 50s (otherwise, they were prescribed mostly for specific conditions, for short periods of use).

I also thought he may have traveled Rt66, into Chicago, and was heading homeward and camped in Penn.

A pic of 195-197 Avenue A, in the 40s.

| NYC Municipal Archives

nycma.lunaimaging.com

Here is a link to another poster NAMUS thoughts; PA - PA - Bedford, 'Mr. Bones' WhtMale 30-35, 585UMPA, 30-06 rifle, gold dental wk, camping equip, Oct'58

Could have been that someone he camped with/traveled with, killed him and left him, too.

2013 article: ‘Mr. Bones’ decoded?: Sleuth believes remains found in Bedford 55 years ago may be Ohio man

I believe that Active was the company that copied the key, and they were located at 195 Avenue A, NYC. See @citizen_sleuth's post from pg. 37:

I was able to narrow down the timeframe of when the duplicate key was made by looking at businesses at 195 Avenue A to some time between 1946 and 1958. The timeline is likely even narrower than this as most businesses in the East Village had a short shelf-life at this time, with many closing up shop in a few years. Unfortunately, the city directories from 1946 onwards are not digitized, so I would have to go to the New York Public Library or New York Historical Society Library to view the physical records.

1929: Venus Cafeteria
1933/4: Unknown, but Active Lock & Key is not listed in the city directory
1939/40: Unknown, but Active Lock & Key is not listed in the telephone directory
1946: Unknown, but Active Lock & Key is not listed in the telephone directory

"Randise Killing Follows Fight in Cafeteria," Press and Sun-Bulletin [Binghamton], 25 May 1929, 3.
Polk's (Trow's) New York City directory (Boroughs of Manhattan and Bronx), 1933/1934
Manhattan Telephone Directory, 1940 Issue
Manhattan Telephone Directory, 1946 Issue

 

[Ozoner]

You've gotta admit though, it's a bit surprising that such a distinctive character as Mr. Bones didn't stick out to more people prior to his death. Based off the sketch, his estimated build, and his clothing the dude was a real-life B.J. Blazkowicz (hope I'm not the only one who sees the resemblance) and greaser combined into one person. A big dude you wouldn't want to mess with. Couple that with that fact he was supposedly carrying a rifle around with him and we have no indication that he owned a vehicle... You'd think someone would've given him a ride and been able to come forward with information about their encounter with him. All we have is the story of the police talking to a man with a rifle claiming to be on his way to Canada from Kentucky. I wonder if those officers gave any more detail than that in their original accounts.

I had never heard of B. J. Blazkowicz, but I ran a quick browser search, so now I see that he is an uzi-toting character from a video game.

You might be romanticizing Mr. Bones a bit. He would have been considered tall, but in areas with predominantly northwest European ancestry, his height would not have been that unusual.

Leather jackets were in style throughout the 1950s. Motorcycle jackets in particular became extremely popular after the movie The Wild One came out in 1953. (It's possible that he actually had a motorcycle. If this was a homicide, the theft of the motorcycle could have been the motive.)

I don't know whether the guy from Kentucky was connected because carrying a rifle would not have stood out back then the way that it would today. If the description was a good match, then he probably was our Mr. Bones. (That doesn't mean that his story about being from Kentucky was true; people have been known to lie to the police.)

Suicide is likely, but if it was an accident or a homicide, I would bet good money that it occurred right where Mr. Bones was found.

 

[TrustedTracker5097]

I had never heard of B. J. Blazkowicz, but I ran a quick browser search, so now I see that he is an uzi-toting character from a video game.

You might be romanticizing Mr. Bones a bit. He would have been considered tall, but in areas with predominantly northwest European ancestry, his height would not have been that unusual.

Leather jackets were in style throughout the 1950s. Motorcycle jackets in particular became extremely popular after the movie The Wild One came out in 1953. (It's possible that he actually had a motorcycle. If this was a homicide, the theft of the motorcycle could have been the motive.)

I don't know whether the guy from Kentucky was connected because carrying a rifle would not have stood out back then the way that it would today. If the description was a good match, then he probably was our Mr. Bones. (That doesn't mean that his story about being from Kentucky was true; people have been known to lie to the police.)

Suicide is likely, but if it was an accident or a homicide, I would bet good money that it occurred right where Mr. Bones was found.

Yes. He is. The other day it clicked that Mr. Bones's sketch somewhat resembled the most recent version of the character, and I thought that was a slightly humorous coincidence especially since both men would have grown up around the same timeframe.

Correct me if I'm wrong though, but wouldn't a motorcycle jacket in the 1950s have been seen as a symbol of rebellion and "living on the edge" by the young people of the day? In other words, it was something people wore because they thought it made them stand out from the crowd? I think that's how the Greaser and Biker subcultures wanted to be perceived back then.

EDIT: Looking into this a bit further, it seems although this type of outfit was often worn by a rebellious crowd, it was more common style of dress back then than I thought. Still, you'd think if this guy interacted with anybody prior to his death they would have likely remembered him. Let's not forget all the camping gear he had, which would've been odd considering his form of dress.

I did do a quick search on the popularity of leather jackets in the 20th century, and it does seem like the brown leather jackets became popularized by their use by bomber crews during WW2. The motorcycle jacket, however, seems to be associated more with the groups I mentioned above.

 

[Richard]

Some answers from LE...

I got an interesting e-mail today from the Pennsylvania State Police investigator assigned to this cold case. I spoke with him by telephone and then sent him an e-mail containing many of the questions posed in this thread. In the interest of brevity, I include below only the questions to which he provided answers. Here is his response:

Thank you for your interest in this case. Most if not all the questions, you listed below have been looked at by different investigators over the years. Unfortunately, none of the leads provided identification. Regulations and time do not permit me to address all your questions however; I have made some comments below. After talking with you and reviewed the case I found some items that can be followed up. Military deserters were checked in 1958 without success. I plan to make another attempt at this. Thank you again for your suggestions.

The Body:
Q - What about the state of the remains? Reports indicate skeletal, but that the skeleton was mostly complete.
A - Very little flesh remained, most of the skeleton was recovered from the area.
Q - How was the body situated (face down or up, sitting, etc)?
A - The remains were scattered over a 40 foot area


It would be nice to know more accurately when this man died.
Q - How did police determine that it was between six months and two years prior?
A - The time of death is sometime during the spring of 1958. The estimated time of six months to two years was listed to generate as many leads as possible.

Q - Why does the Doenetwork posting now state only "in the 1950's?"
A - The source of information used by Doenetwork appears to be a news article from the Post Gazette

The Rifle and Ammunition:
Q - What was the make, model, and serial number of the rifle?
A - Model 721A

Q - To whom was the rifle sold in 1939? Was the origional owner ever located and questioned?
A - Dead end lead

Q - Was it in a condition to be fired when found or was it completely rusted?
A - Rusted

Q - Was it in military configuration - Or had it been sporterized/modified?
A - Not military


Comments on the books...

A- The Books: Research on the books was conducted by the FBI, which indicated the person with higher education, serious student of poetry, a teacher or graduate student in literature or related subject


Questions regarding The Brass Key (stamped "Active 195 Ave A"):
Q - Is this a door key?, a padlock key?, a mailbox key?
Q - Were thare any other markings on the key? Was it on a ring or chain?
Q - What make or pattern is it? (eg: a Cole, Dexter, Chicago, Schlage, Master, Quikset, etc.?)
Q - Is it an origional key, or a copy made on another company's blank?
Q - Is this a continuous stamping, that is all related, or is it stamped in several places, perhaps with different size numerals/letters?
Q - "Active" may be the name of the locksmith who made the key, or could be the name of a company that it was made for.
Q - "195" could be an address, and if so, is probably the address of the key maker. It could simply be a key code.
Q - What cities have an "Avenue A"? (Manhatten, NY - Bayone, NJ - Chicago east side - probably more)

Answers:
A - The key is a duplicate copied onto an Unger blank, cut by Active Locksmith, 195 Avenue A, New York City, NY

A - Keys of this type are used on some Segal 5-pin tumbler cylinder door locks, primarily mortised locks, night latches and deadbolt locks

A - No indications of heavy use or wear from key ring

The recent comments and answers from the lead investigator are very helpful, and interesting.

The only firearms company that made a model 721A was Remington Arms Company of Ilion, NY. It was a bolt action rifle chambered for the 30-06 Springfield cartridge (probably explaining the misinterpretation by the press that is was a Springfield rifle). This rife normally could hold four rounds in the magazine, had a 24 inch barrel, and weighed 7 and a quarter pounds.

The Remington 721A was made between 1948 and 1962 inclusive. So it could hardly have been sold in 1939 as reported on the Doenetwork. It may have been traced to a store in Fort Wayne, Indiana - but not any earlier than 1948.

The estimate of a Spring 1958 death and the man's age estimate of 30 to 35 years would compute a birth year range of 1923 to 1928 (give or take a few years). Perhaps someone who can scan missing persons sites using that range of birth years, and missing year of around 1958 might be able to come up with some possiblities.

The Brass Key seems to be a door key made in New York City, NY. This makes the NY link mentioned in earlier posts much stronger. I would think it more likely that a key company would have marked keys made for a business, apartment complex, or university than for an individual.

The FBI assessment that he was a serious graduate student or professor of English or a related field. That and the fact that all three of his books were published in New York, with one written by two New York College professors, would seem to indicate that the key to this man's identity might be found by checking out New York Colleges for the school year 1957-58 (or earlier).

The two schools which I would check first would be the Maxwell Graduate School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, and the State University of New York Teachers College at Cortland, NY. Those are the schools where the "Reading Poems..." book authors taught, and it is very likely that the book was used at both schools as a text book. Other New York schools which received shipments of the three books in the mid 1950's could also be checked for students in their 30's who dropped out, graduated, or disappeared around 1957-58.

All this probably indicates that he was coming from New York, heading west in the Spring of 1958. The fact that he was found near the Westbound lanes of the highway reststop might also indicate a westerly direction. Could he have been heading home? To a relatives? To his next college?

Please pardon me for quoting myself, but I thought that bringing forward posts 115 and 117 dated in November 2005 might be useful.

Back in 2005 when this thread was started, I contacted the Pennsylvania State Police investigator then in charge of this cold case with a number of questions. He was very forthcoming with answers, including some about the key found with this man's remains.

 

[TrustedTracker5097]

Please pardon me for quoting myself, but I thought that bringing forward posts 115 and 117 dated in November 2005 might be useful.

Back in 2005 when this thread was started, I contacted the Pennsylvania State Police investigator then in charge of this cold case with a number of questions. He was very forthcoming with answers, including some about the key found with this man's remains.

Thanks for sharing Richard. Forgive me for my ignorance, as it's been a long time since I've gone through this whole thread, but do you know if those schools have been checked out to see if they still have any rosters or yearbooks that can be gone over?

 

[TrustedTracker5097]

Please pardon me for quoting myself, but I thought that bringing forward posts 115 and 117 dated in November 2005 might be useful.

Back in 2005 when this thread was started, I contacted the Pennsylvania State Police investigator then in charge of this cold case with a number of questions. He was very forthcoming with answers, including some about the key found with this man's remains.

Also, did you ever get any more info about the books? You had mentioned asking the case officer if there was any written notes, library stamps, or other clues in them and that he would check. I can't find any followup posts on the subject. I believe I had asked about it when I called them back in 2021, but I don't think I ever received an answer.

 

[Richard]

I did not personally check out those schools, but did suggest it to the Penn State Police investigator. I don't know if they followed up on it.

I do not recall them contacting me back with any further info on the books. If they did, I would have posted it in this thread.

There seems to be so much information available about "Mr. Bones" - except his real identity.

 

[TrustedTracker5097]

I did not personally check out those schools, but did suggest it to the Penn State Police investigator. I don't know if they followed up on it.

I do not recall them contacting me back with any further info on the books. If they did, I would have posted it in this thread.

There seems to be so much information available about "Mr. Bones" - except his real identity.

It's such a shame, man. I went ahead and looked at the beginning of this thread, and the fact you've been at this thing for almost two decades without success must be frustrating. I know this guy can be ID'd so long as DNA remains available for testing, but little interest to solve this case seems to be present among authorities. Still, you managed to get a lot of good info from the investigators for us to look through, and you should be proud about that.


One other thing I just considered: the Remington 721A rifle was a relatively expensive gun at the time. Catalogs I managed to find list it as around $88 which is about $1,000 in today's money. For comparison, the surplus WW2 Italian Carcano rifle used by Lee Harvey Oswald to assassinate JFK cost only $19.95 in 1963 (about $200 today). I should also note that same catalog where Oswald's gun is listed also includes a WW2 British Lee Enfield rifle for $19.88, an American 1917 Enfield rifle for $29.88, and a 1903 Springfield for $36.38. The massive amount of affordable surplus rifles from the World Wars and Korea made buying a $1,000 rifle a difficult sell for someone with a limited budget. I think it's therefore safe to say that assuming the Remington did in fact belong to Mr. Bones, he would've been fairly well off, and this would line up with the contact lenses, dental work, and books. I still can't get over the 1939 date though. It makes me feel that something's off about the details we've been given about the rifle. I wish we were given pictures of the markings and any other useful characteristics that could be used to identify the make and model.

 

[wary]

It's such a shame, man. I went ahead and looked at the beginning of this thread, and the fact you've been at this thing for almost two decades without success must be frustrating. I know this guy can be ID'd so long as DNA remains available for testing, but little interest to solve this case seems to be present among authorities. Still, you managed to get a lot of good info from the investigators for us to look through, and you should be proud about that.


One other thing I just considered: the Remington 721A rifle was a relatively expensive gun at the time. Catalogs I managed to find list it as around $88 which is about $1,000 in today's money. For comparison, the surplus WW2 Italian Carcano rifle used by Lee Harvey Oswald to assassinate JFK cost only $19.95 in 1963 (about $200 today). I should also note that same catalog where Oswald's gun is listed also includes a WW2 British Lee Enfield rifle for $19.88, an American 1917 Enfield rifle for $29.88, and a 1903 Springfield for $36.38. The massive amount of affordable surplus rifles from the World Wars and Korea made buying a $1,000 rifle a difficult sell for someone with a limited budget. I think it's therefore safe to say that assuming the Remington did in fact belong to Mr. Bones, he would've been fairly well off, and this would line up with the contact lenses, dental work, and books. I still can't get over the 1939 date though. It makes me feel that something's off about the details we've been given about the rifle. I wish we were given pictures of the markings and any other useful characteristics that could be used to identify the make and model.

1939 a typo for 1949? It’s been suggested before in this thread, which I just discovered last night. But isn’t it the most plausible explanation?

 

[TrustedTracker5097]

1939 a typo for 1949? It’s been suggested before in this thread, which I just discovered last night. But isn’t it the most plausible explanation?

The problem is that you'll also find places where the rifle is listed as a "Springfield". I believe the Doe Network's page on Mr. Bones does this. This is possibly meant to refer to a 1903 Springfield which was made for the US Military. As the name suggests, the rifle was first produced in 1903 and would have been available in 1939 but I'm not sure if any new-production rifles were made that year. I'm not 100% sure if any companies would have been making new Springfields until Pearl Harbor in 1941. After all, our military still had large stockpiles of WW1 era rifles in storage. Btw the Springfield was chambered for the .30-06 cartridge Mr.Bones's gun would have fired. The Remington 721 was chambered for multiple cartridges including.30-06.

Another point is that I've read a newspaper article from right around the time the body was found. It describes the gun as a Remington 721 A and talks about a Remington employee being consulted to identify it's origin. Here we run into another issue: Remington was contracted by the United States government to produce 1903 Springfield rifles at various points in time, so could this article be mistaken about the rifle model and but correct about it being made by Remington? Who knows...

 

[rsd1200]

This site had actual photos of his belongings. Idk if it's been posted or not, but I found it interesting. I'm following a case that has to do with a Penn. suspect, so Mr. Bones' thread happened to catch my eye.

585UMPA

www.doenetwork.org

The key: Brass key with "Active 195 Avenue A" stamped on it. It had been duplicated by Active Locksmiths, 195 Avenue A, New York, NY, but this was a locksmith's stamp and the unidentified person is NOT ASSOCIATED with the property at this address.

Investigators do not believe the victim was from the Bedford area. Anecdotal information may connect this victim to the state of Kentucky: Prior to the victim's discovery, in September 1957, local police in Bedford Borough encountered a loitering man in possession of a rifle. This unidentified man said he was enroute from Kentucky to Canada.

From the initial 1958 report: Gray wool hunting socks with red top, blue denim dungarees with a wide black leather belt, white tee shirt, white jockey type shorts, black leather motorcycle type jacket with full length zipper and slant zipper pockets, and black "engineering" boots, length 12 5/8", width of sole 4 1/2", heel 3 1/4 ", top height 10 1/2", with buckles on the outside. Numerous articles of clothing found nearby. No hat was found.


Anthropologic examinations conducted in 1959 and again in 2003 revealed the victim to have been an adult male of European ancestry, likely between the ages of 30-35 with a living stature of about 6'4" (+/- 2").

High-powered .30-06 Springfield rifle and gun case (No photo of firearm) -- The rifle was sold in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1939

 

[John/Jane Doe]

Could Dwane Roy Dreher be a possible match for "Mr. Bones"?

Duwane Roy Dreher – The Charley Project

5486DMIA - Dwane Roy Dreher

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

The 1955 disappearance of U.S. Navy veteran Dwane Roy Dreher - True Crime Diva

U.S. Navy veteran Dwane Roy Dreher, 33, disappeared on Nov. 7, 1955, after visiting his father in Mason City, Iowa.

truecrimediva.com

 

[rsd1200]

In 1958, Mr. B was said to have been around age 30-35. So a d.o.b. would be within five years or so of 1925.

WW2, lasted from 1939 to 1945. Mr. B would have been around 18-20 at the end of WW2. The Rifle is said to have been sold in 1939, in Indiana, but its buyer is unknown (but the date and desc. has since been found to be incorrect).


Newsarticle attached, from OP, stating that firearm was a Remington 721 30/06 calibre

The Model 721 and Model 722 along with the later Model 725 variant are bolt-action sporting rifles manufactured by Remington Arms from 1948 until 1961. The 721/722 replaced the short-lived Model 720.

Mr Bones Remington

Clipping found in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on 10/13/1958. Mr Bones Remington

www.newspapers.com

Engineer Boots; Engineers in the early 20th century thought quite a lot about their feet and the comfort and safety of their protective footwear. In the run-up to World War II, they finally got the boot – the iconic engineer boot, that is.
Engineer boot designs can vary, but they all share a few basic traits. It starts with full-grain leather, which can be either black or brown but is typically oiled to add flexibility and durability. The most distinctive feature is the tall stovepipe-style leather leg shaft, which can extend anywhere from 7 to 17 inches up the wearer’s leg depending on the style.
In a sense, the engineer boot helped kickstart the motorcycle mania that in turn revived its sales.

In 1953 Marlon Brando starred in The Wild One as Johnny Strabler, the hell-raising chieftain of the degenerate Black Rebels Motorcycle Club. As they terrorized a sleepy southern California town, Brando and his Rebels set the unofficial dress code for the outlaw biker movement: skipper’s cap, black leather bomber jacket, t-shirt, rolled-up Levis, and – of course – that road-worn pair of engineer boots. (Engineers Get the Boot)

Marlon Brando in The Wild One clad in his pair of Chippewa engineer boots. Image: Flckr

I wonder if he could have been killed with his own rifle, his vehicle or motorcycle taken, and they just walked away.

 

[Richard]

The Rifle was a Remington 721A which was chambered for, and loaded with .30-06 Springfield Ammunition.

Early reports were incorrect or somewhat misleading to state that the rifle was "a Springfield ". That 30 caliber rifle round was developed by the US government in1906 for use in the standard issue 1903 Rifle which was developed at Springfield Armory.

The confusion comes from someone referring to the Rifle by the Ammunition it fired. The 1939 date was clearly a typo.

The Remington 721A Rifle in question could be dated in two ways. First by its serial number, and secondly by what is called a Remington "barrel code". These are small letters stamped into the barrel just forward of the receiver and above the stock on the left side. Those codes can give you the month and year of manufacture.

I don't know what those markings are, and I don't know if police investigators checked them out. The Rifle had to have been made some time between 1948 and 1958.