FL FL - Punta Gorda, Zemel Rd, OtherMale 30-59, UP1066, gold Bulova watch, Jan'02

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  • #1
Charlotte County authorities looking for information on two cold cases
''2002: Unidentified Remains on Zemel Road

On Jan. 6, 2002, decomposed remains were found in bushes on the side of Zemel Road in Charlotte County, according to officials.

Two people were driving on Zemel Road when they stopped to locate an animal that had run across the road. While searching, they found bones and called the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office.

More bones and a human skull were found at the site. A medical examiner determined the cause of death was a homicide.

Seventeen years later, in 2019, a forensic anthropologist, issued a report requested by the sheriff’s office’s cold case team. It was determined the victim was a male, between 30 and 59 years old, and between 5 feet, 3 inches and 5 feet, 7 inches tall.

It also showed that the ancestry could be African/Black, but European or White and Latin American/Hispanic could not be ruled out.

The estimated time of death could be several weeks to several months, according to officials.

Earlier this year, the cold case team asked the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office forensic imaging team to create an image of how the victim might have looked before he was killed.

HJZMQUGDT5F27GBJMM6T5MFA5A.jpg

Cold case victim (Courtesy: Charlotte County Sheriff's Office)(Charlotte County Sheriff's Office)
Included in the image above is a photograph of a Bulova watch found on the arm of the remains when they were found in 2002.

No information has even been received to help identify this man. The sheriff’s office said there have been reports he was involved in a fight and was beaten to death before his body was dumped. These reports also claim these individuals took the victim’s bloody clothes and a weapon and buried them in a field near Grapefruit Lane in Punta Gorda.

CCSO officials did not say if these reports have been confirmed or investigated.

The cold case team would like to talk with anyone who might have information on this case.''

ETA, thread for the other UID referenced in article..
FL - Florida- Female, African/Black or Latino/Hispanic, 18-35, 5'7-8'', Tam Miami Trail, 12 Feb.1980
 
  • #2
FYI: I think all 3 of these threads are the same article source. Great minds think alike!
 

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  • #3
This is his NamUs page The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

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#UP1066
Date Body Found January 6, 2002
ME/C Case Number 2002-00015

Sex Male
Race/Ethnicity Other
Estimated Age Range 30-59
Estimated Year of Death 0-2001
Height 5' 3"-5' 11"(63-71 inches) , Estimated
Weight 125-175 lbs, Estimated

Location Punta Gorda, Florida
County Charlotte County

Circumstances of Recovery Skeletal remains found off Zemel Road with a gold watch.

Condition of Remains Not recognizable - Near complete or complete skeleton

Jewelry Watch

Thumbnail
 
  • #4
This is his NamUs page The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Thumbnail


#UP1066
Date Body Found January 6, 2002
ME/C Case Number 2002-00015

Sex Male
Race/Ethnicity Other
Estimated Age Range 30-59
Estimated Year of Death 0-2001
Height 5' 3"-5' 11"(63-71 inches) , Estimated
Weight 125-175 lbs, Estimated

Location Punta Gorda, Florida
County Charlotte County

Circumstances of Recovery Skeletal remains found off Zemel Road with a gold watch.

Condition of Remains Not recognizable - Near complete or complete skeleton

Jewelry Watch

Thumbnail
LOL...ty for posting this. I was literally in the process of pasting when I saw your message pop up.
 
  • #5
LOL...ty for posting this. I was literally in the process of pasting when I saw your message pop up.
LOL, I hope you weren't close to finishing the post..
 
  • #6
I wonder what year that Bulova watch was manufactured? I'm kind of surprised that whoever killed this poor guy did not take it.
 
  • #7

He’s now being associated with the Fort Myers Does.
 
  • #8
Jose Ramon Bernal went missing in September 2001 from Miami. This fits the PMI timeline. He was 33 so age is also within the estimate.

Jose looks similar to UID.

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  • #9
Jose Ramon Bernal went missing in September 2001 from Miami. This fits the PMI timeline. He was 33 so age is also within the estimate.

Jose looks similar to UID.

View attachment 364894View attachment 364904
What in the world? This lists missing date as 1996! Jose Ramon Bernal – The Charley Project

ETA: Either way, I think it’s a good match.
 
  • #10
  • #11
I will see if I can get the missing date clarified as 1996 vs 2001 would make a difference. Let me see what I can find.

I meant to mention the watch as well, although there is no description detailing the watch for MP.

The elongated facial feature is unique on both MP and UID recon.
 
  • #12
I will see if I can get the missing date clarified as 1996 vs 2001 would make a difference. Let me see what I can find.

I meant to mention the watch as well, although there is no description detailing the watch for MP.

The elongated facial feature is unique on both MP and UID recon.
I wonder if local law enforcement had contact with him in 2001? That could explain why NamUs is the only place I saw it listed as that.
 
  • #13
1 Exclusion
1697135075283.png

MP30183 Dervish Adili 08/13/1992 Fairbanks North Star AK
 
  • #14
His NamUs page is down at the moment.
 
  • #15
IDENTIFIED!
Alejandro Narciso Lago
1722255929873.png
1722255943544.png

July 25, 2024 – Port Charlotte, FL rbbm
''Skeletal remains discovered more than 20 years ago in Charlotte County have been identified thanks to DNA technology.

On January 6, 2002, skeletal remains of an unidentified male were found in the bushes on the side of Zemel Road near the landfill in South Charlotte County. A Bulova watch was recovered with the remains. An autopsy was performed and determined the male was the victim of homicide, but they were not able to establish an identity. The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Team, using DNA technology, were able to identify the victim as Cuban male Alejandro Narciso Lago (10/31/57) from Miami Dade County. Alejandro was last seen in Miami on November 17, 2001, and he was reported missing by his mother December 27, 2001.''

''Prior to identifying Lago, the team received a tip that late in 2001 some local males from Punta Gorda had been involved in a physical altercation with a male in South Charlotte County near Richmond Street and Highway 41. The tipster stated the males killed the individual and dumped his body. The team continues to work this lead but are not certain how legitimate this information is or if it pertains to the case in question.''
 
  • #16
Deputies said the team has found no information as to why Lago was in the area. Zemel Road is near the county line and has been used to dump bodies of those that died in the Fort Myers area.

"Finding out why he was in our county could be crucial to finding his killer and bringing them to justice," said Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummel. "If anyone has any information, even the tiniest detail can be a critical piece of evidence. I know that my Cold Case team is the best in the field and they will follow every actionable lead to the end.”
 
  • #17
  • #18
How do we get the thread title updated now that he's been identified?
 
  • #19
Websleuths will be off-line temporarily on Friday, Feb. 14th. For more info CLICK HERE
 
  • #20
Alejandro Narciso Lago

"As they were driving by down on Zemel Road, they saw an animal come across the road. Kind of peaked their curiosity to see what was going on," said Charlotte County Cold Case Kurt Mehl

Lago's mother reported him missing in Miami on November 27, 2001. She hadn't seen him for about a week – no one had – until his remains were discovered off Zemel Road in January 2002.

"Just like trash. Thrown off of some kind of vehicle, we're assuming, as like a piece of trash," Mehl said.

"His prior behavior was involved in some criminal activity involving drugs, distribution. Perhaps smuggling," Mehl said.

But how did Lago end up in Charlotte County? Detectives believe the killer probably knew the area because back then, people wouldn't normally drive down Zemel Road, like they would now. It now connects US 41 to Burnt Store Road.

"They're probably from our area, it's probably someone local," Vogel said.

Detectives believe Lago was likely killed in Charlotte County rather than transported from the east coast.

"There's no reason we could think of that would make any sense of him being killed on the east coast where he was from and being driven all the way over here to the west coast of Florida to be dumped," Vogel said.
 

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