Identified! WI - Delafield, WhtMale, UP7632, car stolen, lighter, Sep'77 - John Lindberg Scott

[Zanko]

Oh and I might add...Jessie R. Cooley's picture strongly resembles this John Doe! Did anyone ever find anything more out about Mr. Cooley?

 

[masnitram]

Is there anything about the age of the lighter? I know the watch was over 20 years old, but the lighter with the inscription, do we have a sense if this was newer in 1977 or not? I was wondering if this guy's parents might be John and Lauri.
I also would like to know more about the presence of military personnel in the area. Clean shaven, short hair, purchased all new clothing...could he have been on leave? AWOL? Recently discharged?

The only thing about Jessie Cooley that doesn't add up is they list his hair as Red and eyes as Blue. I haven't heard back from anyone in North Carolina about him.

Nothing on the lighter specific...other then the names. I've been made aware that "Lauri" is also a male name overseas.

The Great Lakes Naval Training Center is very close to Gurnee, IL where the car was stolen from. The site has been around for over 100 years. The Waukesha CO detective handling the case said that no one had been reported missing, AWOL, or escaped (prison or hospital).

Now recently discharged is possible, and by all accounts logical considering that not a single "John", nor anyone matching his description was reported missing in the area (from what I was told it was the entire SE Wisconsin/Northern Illinois area).

If he truly wasn't somewhat local, there really wouldn't be a reason for him to travel to Wheaton, IL to buy new clothes and then steal a car an hour north of Wheaton in Gurnee,IL and then perish 60 miles east of Madison, WI/just outside of Milwaukee. Gurnee would be the halfway point from Wheaton to Delafield....his pattern of travel was literally like a yo-yo if the detectives have it correct. :twocents:

 

[Claudette]

The only thing about Jessie Cooley that doesn't add up is they list his hair as Red and eyes as Blue. I haven't heard back from anyone in North Carolina about him.

Nothing on the lighter specific...other then the names. I've been made aware that "Lauri" is also a male name overseas.

The Great Lakes Naval Training Center is very close to Gurnee, IL where the car was stolen from. The site has been around for over 100 years. The Waukesha CO detective handling the case said that no one had been reported missing, AWOL, or escaped (prison or hospital).

Now recently discharged is possible, and by all accounts logical considering that not a single "John", nor anyone matching his description was reported missing in the area (from what I was told it was the entire SE Wisconsin/Northern Illinois area).

If he truly wasn't somewhat local, there really wouldn't be a reason for him to travel to Wheaton, IL to buy new clothes and then steal a car an hour north of Wheaton in Gurnee,IL and then perish 60 miles east of Madison, WI/just outside of Milwaukee. Gurnee would be the halfway point from Wheaton to Delafield....his pattern of travel was literally like a yo-yo if the detectives have it correct. :twocents:

FYI It may be a different place, but I think the Great Lakes Naval station was turned into a mini town called "The Glen". It's actually a very nice place, beautiful homes and landscaping, offices and shopping. Kind of Pleasantville-ish but I like it lol

This was only recent though.

 

[Claudette]

If he truly wasn't somewhat local, there really wouldn't be a reason for him to travel to Wheaton, IL to buy new clothes and then steal a car an hour north of Wheaton in Gurnee,IL and then perish 60 miles east of Madison, WI/just outside of Milwaukee. Gurnee would be the halfway point from Wheaton to Delafield....his pattern of travel was literally like a yo-yo if the detectives have it correct. :twocents:

I agree, I think the chances are truly more likely that he was local or local-ish, however I don't know why they only looked into SE WI. I think it is possible he could be from elsewhere in Wisconsin before he is a random traveler.

 

[Cubby]

I agree he was likely local to the IL/WI border nearer the lake.

We never really determined how he obtained the clothing from Gaeddes. The employee's of Gaeddes didn't recognize him or were unable to assist the investigation. The clothing - a mens store in a very conservative 'bible' town multiple car keys and a stolen car stands out to me. It strikes me as someone who is a motorcycle enthusiast choosing Ralph Lauren mens clothing.

It might be a long shot but I wonder where avenues theft of mens clothing might lead us.

or perhaps if there any 'halfway' houses in the Wheaton area at the time who worked with troubled men to help them get back on their feet. He had the business card to the RV place near the IL/WI border. Maybe the clothes were donated and he was trying to make a job interview that morning?

Something to look into as we have time. My schedule is pretty tight right now until the school year ends..... but I will definately put this on my to do list as time permits. Anyone else is free to look into those possible avenues as well.

 

[nerosleuth]

or perhaps if there any 'halfway' houses in the Wheaton area at the time who worked with troubled men to help them get back on their feet.

Were there any faith missions or homeless shelters in the Wheaton area back then?

Could our unid have been between 19 to 21 years of age?

There is a possibility here that he could have been released or maybe escaped from a juvenile institution from another state.

I don't know about Illinois or Wisconsin, but in Ohio, a juvenile convicted of a crime as a juvenile can be held at a juvenile institution for anywhere from a few months up to until they become 21 years of age.

What I don't know is whether or not a juvenile would be fingerprinted if they serve time at a juvenile institution.

 

[Cubby]

Oh no I just lost my post......

Wheaton the Wheaton Bible college as well as many many other churches so I am sure there were some faith missions. (Wheaton is known for having the most churches in this area). I am hoping to find someone who had been a volunteer or volunteer director during the time frame who would be willing to answer some of our questions and might be able to direct me to others who would likely remember more specifics from Sept of 77. I'm looking as time permits but havent found anyone yet.

A trip to the local Wheaton Public Library and Wheaton Campus might also lead to some resources for these unanswered questions surrounding the Wheaton aspect of this case. I'd bet the librarians at the local library would know a lot about the history of Wheaton and may also be able to provide this information.

I am a bit pressed for time to allow that until school lets out for summer break but will definately make an afternoon or day of it first chance I get.

Also, I don't think he was a juvenille. Possible but probably unlikely. I will ask about that avenue as well.

Unsure about the printcard. IIRC WI has not tried to update our UID's print card to any database... hopefully that is somewhere in the works and will eventually be done.

 

[KLCD620]

Another suggestion idea to the Waukesha CO detective handling the case: Why not they put an article news/better sketch image about this Delafield UID as second try?

In 1980, Coroner Donald Eggum did the article/sketch of him in Milwaukee Journal newspapers for hoping people to recognize him and give him his ID after being UID for 3 yrs. Nice effort but not success. And there's no technology advance in 1977 thru 1990 when he tried to identify him.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?n...WoaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=uCsEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4749,1755853

It's been approx 31 yrs since the newspaper article. No new leads or any promise news.
So, let's try for second article news about him. Maybe most people at least 50 yrs old & above might recognize his face from the sketch or postmortem photos. It's time to open it up the case for closure. That 34 yrs of being UID is too long time.

 

[Han-Tastic]

It's time to open it up the case for closure. That 34 yrs of being UID is too long time.

I agree. I've been following this thread for a while, and I think you guys are all doing a really great job! This just seems like the sort of case that should have and could have been solved fairly quickly, you know? Clearly, what do I know though?! :crazy:

 

[masnitram]

Gerald Davis -https://www.findthemissing.org/cases/4984/

Namus has him disappearing at the age of 60, which is incorrect and probably why I never bothered to look before. I found a cyberpages ad for him from 1997 that lists his birthday as January 7, 1950.

Circumstances say Gerald was traveling from Vegas to PA, not a lot of physical information to go on to match to JD (chest hair, uncircumsized, dental partial).

I don't like Geralds eyebrows by comparison, they're a little full by comparison to JD...but I feel black and white photos are not very accurate. However there are somethings I do like...but maybe my involvement with this particular JD has me a bit too "hopeful"....

Height and weight is solid, hair and eye color is solid, timeline and age is good as well.

Thoughts?

 

[CommanderCoal]

Gerald Davis seems like an interesting candidate to me. Nice find.

It's possible his Army record contains more photos of him, and that could be partially obtained through a FOIA request.

 

[masnitram]

Gerald Davis seems like an interesting candidate to me. Nice find.

It's possible his Army record contains more photos of him, and that could be partially obtained through a FOIA request.

The photos on Namus are from his high school graduation-Valley High School Lucasville, Ohio (I would assume 1968 or '69). I'm going to check "classmates" to see if that yearbook is available and if there are candid shots of him in there for comparison.

I'm not familiar with a FOIA request, but I'll look into that...thanks for the tip.

I can't find the actual *full* cyberpages listing either, even using a "cached" search. This is all I can pull up from cyberpages...(I'll see if I can find the full listing later; the link that appeared on google is below)

"Born on July 24, 1977 at Charlotte Memorial Hospital (Now Carolinas ..... Gerald Lee Davis: Born in Portsmouth, Ohio on January 7, 1950 so he would be 47. "

www.cyberpages.com/attractions/persons19971.html

 

[masnitram]

Gerald Lee Davis' senior yearbook isn't posted on Classmates (his senior photo is on Namus, I was looking for candids etc fyi) . I did find his Freshman year photo from the 1965 yearbook however. It is on Page #99 if you want to follow the link.

I don't know what to think honestly...his eyebrows and lips look too thick/full to me. The post mortem photos of JD don't offer many good angles to compare...I can't get a good read on JD's eyebrows or lips to say either way. Geralds nose however looks spot on imho.

http://www.classmates.com/yearbooks/Valley-High-School/50825

 

[Cubby]

The above classmates link doesn't work without a membership. I tend to agree with you regarding the eyebrows and lips. They both appear much fuller on GLD than the UID.

Also, it looks like GLD has dna but not dentals available and our UID has no dna available making this difficult for comparison.

the only thing I can wonder which might help rule GLD out as our UID is if WI had or is able to date the scars found on the UID. GLD only lists a scar on top of his head. The UID has scars on his hands and knee IIRC. If the ME could determine the scars on our UID are older than when GLD was last seen they may be able to rule out that way. I've had one possible match ruled out by dating scars.

hth

 

[masnitram]

The above classmates link doesn't work without a membership. I tend to agree with you regarding the eyebrows and lips. They both appear much fuller on GLD than the UID.

Also, it looks like GLD has dna but not dentals available and our UID has no dna available making this difficult for comparison.

the only thing I can wonder which might help rule GLD out as our UID is if WI had or is able to date the scars found on the UID. GLD only lists a scar on top of his head. The UID has scars on his hands and knee IIRC. If the ME could determine the scars on our UID are older than when GLD was last seen they may be able to rule out that way. I've had one possible match ruled out by dating scars.

hth

The UID doesn't have dentals or DNA, just a mention that there is a partial upper denture plate. The scars are noted as "old" on the UID, both on the hand and the knee. No scars noted on Gerald, other then the scar on the top of his head. Since Gerald disappeared February 1st of 1977, if he did acquire two scars between February and September...I would think that they wouldn't be considered old. I leave open the possibility that Gerald's info isn't complete (scars, dentals, etc...), ya never know.

 

[CarlK90245]

There is nothing there to rule-out with certainty, but I agree - Gerald's eyebrows are much thicker, particularly toward the temples, and his lips are more full IMO.

The dorsum of his nose looks a little more concave. I don't see the hump that John Doe has, though that could be affected by camera angle.

 

[Cubby]

Is there any way to determine the age of a partial dental plate? Just wondering if so and they are able to determine it is much older than the date Gerald was last seen, perhaps the detective handling Geralds missing persons case can find out if Gerald had a partial denture or not.

I thought the scars were old too, but it is odd that a scar mentioned on the top of the head would be the only one mentioned. Especially if Gerald had a full head of hair when he went missing. Makes me wonder if Gerald was balding and the scar was noticable or if he had a full head of hair but a noticable spot that did not grow hair due to scarring.

 

[Cubby]

I wish we had DNA on this case. I really do because if we could not only get the DNA in namus I'd like to inquire with Colleen Fitzpatrick about the Y-dna to see if we can determine a possible male surname for this guy. This is one case I would love to see solved!

 

[masnitram]

I wish we had DNA on this case. I really do because if we could not only get the DNA in namus I'd like to inquire with Colleen Fitzpatrick about the Y-dna to see if we can determine a possible male surname for this guy. This is one case I would love to see solved!

That would be great! Unfortunately it appears that we have to present a pretty convincing match before Waukesha County would be willing to exhume JD. This is in spite of the fact that they destroyed all the evidence from the case in the early 80's.

I'm thinking about contacting some old media contacts about running a story about JD; I know KLCD620 and a few others have suggested that.

 

[Cubby]

I can understand not wanting to foot the cost to obtain dna in this economy. I do wish they would attempt with the print card. They might get lucky with a match on the prints. My step dad is retired LE (66-86) and he sees no reason old print cards can't be added to current data bases. He said even if they are pretty bad it should still be possible.