Identified! WA - Everett, Male UP2137, 35-75, Lake Stickney, Jun'94 - Rodney Peter Johnson

[sasha17]

An unidentified male was found in Lake Stickney in Everett, WA on June 11, 1994, found by a fisherman. The deceased had been shot in the head.

NamUs #UP2137
Unidentified Person Case

A detailed story from the local newspaper with photos of his clothing and lots of information, published September 2018: https://www.heraldnet.com/news/who-am-i-the-shifting-faces-of-a-man-found-in-lake-stickney/

Two different possible sketches:

 

[Snoopster]

What a shame that the UP was misidentified as white initially and his size was likely underestimated. Relatives or friends might have discarded the idea that he was their loved one and then never looked in this case again.

At autopsy, the weight of the man in Lake Stickney was estimated at 135 to 170 pounds. A guess at his height was rough, 5-foot-10, give or take two inches. He was believed to be white, Hispanic or mixed race.

Years later, when Dr. Taylor examined the skeleton, she came to new conclusions. The man was closer to 180 or 200 pounds, about 5-foot-11, and black or “black/white.” And he was not so young. He was probably in his 40s, at least.

https://www.heraldnet.com/news/who-am-i-the-shifting-faces-of-a-man-found-in-lake-stickney/

Here's a link to the location of Lake Stickney.
Google Maps

 

[iulia]

Who Am I? A new sketch emerges for ’94 Lake Stickney John Doe | HeraldNet.com

LYNNWOOD — Over the past 25 years, forensic artists have tried and tried and tried to reconstruct the face of a man who was shot in the head and dumped in Lake Stickney.

Now a new drawing may depict the closest likeness of the man in life. Or at least that’s the hope. With the right tip, Snohomish County sheriff’s detectives hope to restore his name to him, and eventually, figure out who killed him.

 

[YaYa_521]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

15 exclusions
MP2677 William Arnold 07/15/1967 Lancaster NE
MP22522 Dale Brown 03/01/1991 Spokane WA
MP932 John Dial 07/01/1985 Childress TX
MP21729 Victor Echeandia 11/15/1992 King WA
MP2797 Joseph Halpern 08/15/1933 Larimer CO
MP1752 Christopher King 08/02/1974 San Bernardino CA
MP7429 Randall Leach 11/07/1980 Bonneville ID
MP4473 Michael Madden 08/10/1996 Tuolumne CA
MP11365 John Reamer 03/28/1994 Lewis and Clark MT
MP14292 Jason Scholz 11/05/1988 King WA
MP1712 Randy Sellers 08/16/1980 Kenton KY
-- Tyrom Theis -- -- OR
MP7256 Jose Villegas 09/20/1991 King WA
MP7295 Bennie Washington Jr. 04/11/1985 King WA
MP4745 Tommie Woods 11/30/1993 Pierce WA

 

[peace+love]

What a shame that the UP was misidentified as white initially and his size was likely underestimated. Relatives or friends might have discarded the idea that he was their loved one and then never looked in this case again.




Who am I? The shifting faces of a man found in Lake Stickney | HeraldNet.com

Here's a link to the location of Lake Stickney.
Google Maps[/QUOTE

Unfortunately too, the artist renderings can often be misleading or incorrect.

 

[YaYa_521]

An unidentified male was found in Lake Stickney in Everett, WA on June 11, 1994, found by a fisherman. The deceased had been shot in the head.

NamUs #UP2137
Unidentified Person Case

A detailed story from the local newspaper with photos of his clothing and lots of information, published September 2018: Who am I? The shifting faces of a man found in Lake Stickney | HeraldNet.com

Two different possible sketches:

 

[YaYa_521]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
I wish there was more information on Michael's disappearance. The location and timeline along with his size fits. There's something about the circumstances of his disappearance that leave me a bit curious as to whether he really did leave voluntarily. Did witnesses see him driving to/near the location where his vehicle was found? A photo of him would be nice to have as well.

 

[dotr]

IDENTIFIED! rbbm.
WATCH LIVE: Snohomish County officials announce break in 1980s cold case
''SNOHOMISH COUNTY, Wash. — After finding a body Lake Stickney in 1994, Snohomish County officials say they've finally identified who the person is nearly 26 years later.

Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit, Cold Case Team and the Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office say the body is that of Rodney Peter Johnson.


Johnson was last seen by family members sometime around late 1987 or early 1988 when he left on a camping trip, according to the sheriff's office.

On June 11, 1994, his body was found floating in Lake Stickney. ''

Ws thread..(Redundant now that man has been identified at this press conference)
WA - Snohomish County Sheriffs announcing break in 1980's cold case, 11a.m, 12 Aug 2020

 

[victoriarobinson642]

IDENTIFIED! rbbm.
WATCH LIVE: Snohomish County officials announce break in 1980s cold case
''SNOHOMISH COUNTY, Wash. — After finding a body Lake Stickney in 1994, Snohomish County officials say they've finally identified who the person is nearly 26 years later.

Johnson was identified using forensic-grade genome sequencing and genealogy.

 

[peace+love]

Othram, in collaboration with Snohomish County, is very excited to share that we have identified '94 Lake Stickney John Doe as Rodney Peter Johnson. While his family now has closure, the new mystery is identifying his killer. Read more about the case and how Othram collaborated with Law Enforcement to identify Mr. Johnson below:

DNASolves - Lake Stickney Doe Identified After 26 Years!

 

[YaYa_521]

Othram, in collaboration with Snohomish County, is very excited to share that we have identified '94 Lake Stickney John Doe as Rodney Peter Johnson. While his family now has closure, the new mystery is identifying his killer. Read more about the case and how Othram collaborated with Law Enforcement to identify Mr. Johnson below:

DNASolves - Lake Stickney Doe Identified After 26 Years!

Go @othram! Great job again.

Rest in peace, Rodney.

 

[dotr]

Rodney Peter Johnson ID as victim as Snohomish sheriff seeks clues in late 1980s slaying

KOMO

 

[YaYa_521]

Another ID through DNA: What happened to Rodney Johnson? | HeraldNet.com

Rodney is 2nd from left.

 

[carbuff]

Apparently he was reported missing. I found a couple of archived references to his information with the Snohomish county sheriff's office, but I couldn't find it in the sheriff's website. It doesn't seem to say anything that wasn't in today's press release. This is from a tiny local news site Missing and Deceased Of Snohomish County

21) Rodney Peter Johnson Report Type: Missing Person
Sex: Male Race: White Hair: Brown Eye Color: Brown
Skin: Unknown Height: 5′ 9″ Weight: 185
Date of Birth: Jun-17-1962 Place of Birth: Washington
Current Age: 53
Last Seen: Fri Jan-01-1988
Dental X-rays Available: No
Scars, Marks, Tatoos:
Scar: Arm, left, nonspecific
Scar: Arm, right, nonspecific
Scar: Elbow, left
Agency: Snohomish county sheriff Case Number (OCA): 96-3079

 

[YaYa_521]

Interesting!
Another ID through DNA: What happened to Rodney Johnson? | HeraldNet.com
snipped

At the time the unidentified body was discovered, it was clear the man had been in the water “for a significant period of time,” according to the Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office. He wore brown work boots, a pair of black socks, a belt with a 1¼-inch-wide buckle, shrink-to-fit Levi’s and a slender pair of Hanes underwear. One of his collarbones had been broken and healed. He’d been to a dentist for a root canal and fillings. His lower teeth were skinny at the front of his bite, showing five little gaps that would have made for a distinct smile.

All of this was made public over the years in media reports, but public tips never led detectives to Rodney Johnson. An early forensic reconstruction based on the man’s skull showed a face with a dark mullet and a pronounced brow line. It was printed as the seven of hearts in a deck of cold case playing cards distributed by the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office in 2008. The cards were handed out to prisoners with the hope of generating leads. He was the only person in the deck listed as John Doe. The card described him as “most likely white, but could be Hispanic or of mixed race.”

Those conclusions were revised during a renewed effort to find his name in 2016. State forensic anthropologist Dr. Kathy Taylor looked at the skull and determined it had traits often associated with African heritage, or perhaps even Asian heritage, or a mix of ethnic backgrounds. A second opinion from Dr. Laura Fulginiti, a forensic anthropologist at the Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner in Arizona, suggested he was probably white, age 25 to 35.

So forensic artist Natalie Murry took it in all different directions — drawing him as a younger Black man with stubble, then an older Black man with a receding hairline, and last year as a stout Asian man, in a new attempt — with the hope one reconstruction was just right enough and close enough to jog somebody’s memory.

As it turned out, the original findings were just about spot on.

 

[sasha17]

I'm so happy to see an update to this and identification, finally. Rest in peace, Mr. Johnson.

 

[victoriarobinson642]

(Via: DNASolves - Lake Stickney Doe Identified After 26 Years!)

 

[othram]

Go @othram! Great job again.

Rest in peace, Rodney.

Thank you!

 

[othram]

Thanks to everyone for the interest! We are so happy to have been able to help and we are looking forward to following the investigation as they identify the responsible party for this terrible crime.

 

[JovanSrna]

''The lab was about to get one-fifth of a nanogram of DNA — that is, one-fifth of a billionth of a gram — with 98% of it bacterial.

In this day and age, it was enough.''

Congratulations, a job well done! Questions for the person running Othram's account here if they are inclined:
How optimal was this amount by current standards of technology as well as contamination status?
When did technology reach the point for this amount to be sufficient (would it have been enough in 2017 for example)?
How does the current state of technology bode for other UIDs with similar contamination issues, older remains, cases with scarcer amounts of remains and quality material, and so on?