Identified! TX - Harris-Waller County Line, HispMale 17-32, woven leather belt, March 20, 2002 - Hector Jose Garcia

[victoriarobinson642]

Via the Doe Network:

3092UMTX

Date of Discovery: March 20, 2002
Location of Discovery: Harris County, Texas
Estimated Date of Death: 1-2 weeks prior
State of Remains: Decomposed
Cause of Death: Homicide by gunshot

Physical Description
Estimated Age: 17-32 years old
Race: White and/or Hispanic
Sex: Male
Height: 5'5" to 5'7"
Weight: 165 to 170 lbs.
Hair: Black, 1/4" long
Eye Color: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Three Gothic-style letters "H J G" or "H J D" tattooed on his lower left leg, orientated vertically and each about 2" tall.

Identifiers
Dentals: Available. Silver fillings. A portion of the right mandible (teeth 30-32) is missing.
Fingerprints: Not available.
DNA: Available.

Clothing & Personal Items
Clothing: Black on tan, checkered patterned, Docker, nylon, hooded windbreaker jacket; a black and white Nautica short sleeved shirt (size Medium); a white tank top; Polo brand, blue jeans (size 30W x 30L); a brown, woven leather belt; white socks with black Nike logo, Merona bikini briefs, and brown, leather, Nautica lace-up, buckle shoes.
Jewelry: None.
Additional Personal Items: None.

Circumstances of Discovery
The victim was found face down, in Spring Creek, at Kickapoo Road, near the Harris-Waller county line.

A driver on Kickapoo Road near FM 2920 saw the body in the water at about 10.00. The victim had been shot multiple times.

---

I didn't see a thread for this man - I've submitted Hector Jose Garcia missing from Houston, Texas as a match to him.

 

[victoriarobinson642]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

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

www.namus.gov

I already submitted him through the doenetwork itself but I may submit it to LE directly if I can figure out how to do so.

 

[Aurora90]

I had caught this possible match, and I had also submitted before seeing that many others did as well. I emailed the Harris County's Sherrif's Office and I also left a detailed voicemail to the Medical Examiner's office.

I also wonder, is there any way that the tattoo initials for this John Doe are actually HJG and not HJB? I wonder if the tattoo is actually Hector's initials?

There are quite a few parallels between Hector Jose Garcia and the John Doe found less than 1 month later.

Namus# MP91439 -- Hector Jose Garcia
Namus# UP165 -- John Doe

Date Missing/ Body Found
Hector Garcia: February 2022 from Houston Texas
John Doe found: March 2002, Harris County Texas

Height:
Hector Garcia: 5'7-5'8
John Doe: 5'7

Weight:
Hector Garcia: 150-160 lbs
John Doe: 166 lbs

Please note: John Doe has tattoo of initials *HJG*.
Possibly tattoo initials of missing person Hector Jose Garcia.

 

[Aurora90]

 

[Aurora90]

Oops, I don't think I attached it properly....

But the more I look at it, I think it is a G. The H and J are capitalized. It is more likely that the last letter is a Capital G rather than a lowercase b. Hopefully this gets matched up soon.

 

[victoriarobinson642]

I read it as a G and not a B.

Blackletter Bs look very different than the letter in his tattoo. Most of them have a tail extending out to the left from the top left corner of the letter which John Doe's tattoo doesn't have.

How to write in Blackletter - Bb

loopsandtails.com

 

[Aurora90]

I read it as a G and not a B.
View attachment 347755View attachment 347756
Blackletter Bs look very different than the letter in his tattoo. Most of them have a tail extending out to the left from the top left corner of the letter which John Doe's tattoo doesn't have.

How to write in Blackletter - Bb

loopsandtails.com

Yes I agree, I also think it is a G. As per his initials.

 

[victoriarobinson642]

Hector is not a match, according to the Doe Network.

 

[Caring1]

3 Missing Person Exclusions

+ Hector Garcia ruled out

 

[iulia]

The NamUs page for this Doe has been removed.

 

[Otterly]

Identified per Doe Network:

3092UMTX

 

[SimsGuy67]

ID'd as the thought to be ruled out Hector Garcia.

After 18 years, Harris County John Doe (2002) is Identified

Harris County Sheriff's Office, Institute of Forensic Sciences & Texas Rangers Team with Othram to Identify a 2002 Homicide Victim

dnasolves.com

 

[victoriarobinson642]

Could the folks at @othram explain how the DNA profiles didn't match in CODIS? Very bizarre...

 

[MarziPanda]

The only thing I can think of is a contaminated sample, or a glitch in CODIS, or something 'wrong' with the mtDNA regarding his sister, such as her actually being adopted or their mother using an egg donor for one of them. Or even something more far out like the sister being swapped at birth or a mtDNA mutation... I'm going with contaminated DNA sample.

RIP Hector.

 

[cvaldez1975]

I had caught this possible match, and I had also submitted before seeing that many others did as well. I emailed the Harris County's Sherrif's Office and I also left a detailed voicemail to the Medical Examiner's office.

I also wonder, is there any way that the tattoo initials for this John Doe are actually HJG and not HJB? I wonder if the tattoo is actually Hector's initials?

There are quite a few parallels between Hector Jose Garcia and the John Doe found less than 1 month later.

Namus# MP91439 -- Hector Jose Garcia
Namus# UP165 -- John Doe

Date Missing/ Body Found
Hector Garcia: February 2022 from Houston Texas
John Doe found: March 2002, Harris County Texas

Height:
Hector Garcia: 5'7-5'8
John Doe: 5'7

Weight:
Hector Garcia: 150-160 lbs
John Doe: 166 lbs

Please note: John Doe has tattoo of initials *HJG*.
Possibly tattoo initials of missing person Hector Jose Garcia.

it was a match after all!

 

[Aurora90]

Could the folks at @othram explain how the DNA profiles didn't match in CODIS? Very bizarre...

I am very interested to know this as well. Especially in the case of Mabel Andrews. There is so much about DNA that still continues to confuse me.