Identified! CO - Lake Co., WhtMale 2530UMCO, 18-30, Hwy 82, covered by rockfall, Jun'70 - Gardner Paul Smith

[subaw0067]

FWIW Marvin's NamUs is down too

Marvin Shahan

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

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

www.namus.gov

Good eye!

 

[DS2021]

Good eye!

The link on this thread is broken. I clicked the one on Marvin's WS page and it brought me to his page. His NamUs is still up and active. My apologies

Edit
The link in this thread that is attributed to Marvin's NamUs must actually be for a separate case. The ID # is completely different than Marvin's

 

[evilwise]

Published Nov 18, 2020
John Doe resurfaces

The Herald Democrat of that time quoted the Lake County Sheriff’s Office in saying the body appeared to be that of a person in his early 20s, 5’7” to 5’8” in height. The entire left arm and rib cage of the body was missing. Months later the missing body parts were found in the vicinity by a highway maintenance man.

John Doe had expensive dental work, with gold and platinum fillings. He had dark hair and was dressed in a tattered sweatshirt and grey trousers. He wore three pairs of socks with an unworn sock over the left shoe. In his pockets were $7 and a razor. Searches failed to turn up any identification in the area.

Although there was some investigation of missing persons at the time, none turned out to be the Independence Pass John Doe. Eventually he was buried in the Evergreen Cemetery with a metal marker saying “Unidentified Male, May 1970.” (Although he was found in June, it seems that someone figured he actually died in May.)
---
In fall 2013, the body was disinterred under Kent’s direction. A fingerprint and some DNA was obtained.
---
The Herald mentioned Independence Pass John Doe again in 2017 when Pettem published her book, “The Long Term Missing,” which includes a section on him. At the time, the coroner said he planned to bury the body that spring.

Since that time, I haven’t thought much about John Doe, believing he was back in Evergreen Cemetery where he could be found if a family member ever shows up. This changed recently when I was reviewing the police report about the sheriff’s office executing a search warrant at the Bailey Kent Funeral Home on Oct. 2. The report referenced finding a coffin, sealed shut, with dirt on it from a disinterment in 2013. One of the photos accompanying the report showed a coffin labeled Mr. John Doe — Disinter — 10-8-13.

Although my recent inquiry to the coroner went unanswered, it seems possible that that coffin contains the Independence Pass John Doe, and he never made it back to the cemetery.

John Doe resurfaces

They obtained a fingerprint 43 years after his skeletal remains were recovered?

 

[ClaireNC]

This Doe is still listed as a cold case on the CBI website: Colorado Cold Case Files - Case Detail: John Doe

 

[bombardier]

The link on this thread is broken. I clicked the one on Marvin's WS page and it brought me to his page. His NamUs is still up and active. My apologies

Edit
The link in this thread that is attributed to Marvin's NamUs must actually be for a separate case. The ID # is completely different than Marvin's

darn it!
Marvin's actual NamUs link:

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

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

www.namus.gov

 

[Silvia]

IDENTIFIED! LAKE COUNTY (INDEPENDENCE PASS) JOHN DOE, found in 1970

Independence Pass John Doe named

The Independence Pass John Doe has been identified. His name is Gardner Paul Smith.

www.leadvilleherald.com

 

[victoriarobinson642]

Rest in peace, Gardner Paul Smith

 

[DS2021]

So it sounds like he was alive for quite awhile after he disappeared. I wonder where he was.

IDENTIFIED! LAKE COUNTY (INDEPENDENCE PASS) JOHN DOE, found in 1970

Independence Pass John Doe named

The Independence Pass John Doe has been identified. His name is Gardner Paul Smith.

www.leadvilleherald.com

 

[Silvia]

Here's a TV story on Gardner Smith, Body found in Colorado identified as missing skier Gardner Smith

 

[snooptroop88]

So it sounds like he was alive for quite awhile after he disappeared. I wonder where he was.

Agreed. That article says someone claims to have had contact with Gardner as recently as 1968, Gardner was on the road trying to market a piece of ski equipment he'd designed. (And I think they mention another product he'd designed that he'd try to market prior to that.) All of it has something of a riff on a "Beatnik" vibe to it, jmo.

Researching here, Independence Pass has areas that are frozen and/or snow-covered year round. And the area seems to have its share of avalanches, and avalanches have already been mentioned in the thread (and agreed). Were it not for the fact that I'm seeing he sent his mother a postcard received in Nov 1969, I'd seriously wonder if Gardner wasn't near that site for a lengthier time and his remains were preserved, and then at some point released/dislodged into the open/in line of view. They had thought the Doe was only 30 (or even younger), Gardner would have been 40. But it's possible that he was in such excellent condition for his age that this was the source of the discrepancy, I would think. (However, in the article, the man who saw Gardner in 1968 said Gardner was not in good shape physically.)

Mystery solved: What happened to lost legendary Sierra Nevada skier Gardner Smith

His daughter grew up without him, wondering why and where he had gone.

www.mercurynews.com

So he'd have been in touch with others at least as recent as Nov 1969, and was ultimately found in June 1970. So perhaps he was in some accident right near where he was found, maybe staying near Independence Pass over (and past) the holidays, and very serious accident occurred relatively shortly after he'd sent the postcard. The roads around that area close seasonally but remain open to hikers and skiers. It sounds like he had boots and layers of socks, a sweatshirt, but we don't know what kind, what it's made of, etc. If he had three layers of socks and good boots, it sounds like he may well have made at least some efforts to dress for the weather and there's some missing link on the info, maybe the jacket was removed at some point with ID within it and was lost just prior to/during the accident,, remaining frozen or buried in the snow, maybe removed through predation, somewhat (?) near where the body recovered. Article I saw noting foul play not suspected.

RIP, Gardner.