Found Deceased IA - Timothy William-Michal Fortney, 22, Ottumwa, 2018

[CastlesBurning]

Ottumwa Police asking for public's help with missing person investigation from 2019

OTTUMWA, Iowa (Iowa's News Now) — The Ottumwa Police Department is asking for the public's help with a missing person investigation, first started in 2019.

On August 28, 2019, Timothy William-Michal Fortney was reported missing to the police department.

At the time he was reported missing, Fortney had not been seen for over a year.

Fortney’s information has been entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NAMUS) who created the flyer above.

If anyone has information regarding Fortney they are requested to contact the Ottumwa Police Department Investigations Unit at 641-683-0661 or NAMUS at (855)-626-7600.

Ottumwa police searching for man reported missing in 2019

 

[Shiningstar]

*I could not find a thread for this man on here, please forgive me if I missed it*

OTTUMWA, Iowa (Iowa's News Now) — The Ottumwa Police Department is asking for the public's help with a missing person investigation, first started in 2019.

On August 28, 2019, Timothy William-Michal Fortney was reported missing to the police department.

At the time he was reported missing, Fortney had not been seen for over a year.

Fortney’s information has been entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NAMUS) who created the flyer above.

If anyone has information regarding Fortney they are requested to contact the Ottumwa Police Department Investigations Unit at 641-683-0661 or NAMUS at (855)-626-7600.

Ottumwa Police asking for public's help with missing person investigation from 2019

 

[TheArtfulDetective]

Timothy William Michal Fortney



Details:
Last Seen: Date of last contact was 03/18/2018
Location: Ottumwa, IA
Status: Endangered / missing

Demographics:
Age when missing: 22
Sex: Male
Race: White
Height: 6’0”
Weight: 165 lbs.
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Alias/Nickname: "Timmy"
Distinguishing Characteristics: Tattoos: Chest - Skull, Left upper arm - Native American feathers, Right side - "Fortney", Right upper arm - Cross

Circumstances:
The last known contact with Timothy was 03-18-2018 via Facebook Messenger. Timothy's Facebook has not been active since.

Investigating Agency(s):
Ottumwa Police Department
330 West 2nd Street
Ottumwa, Iowa 52501
Wapello County
(641) 683-0661
Website URL: https://www.ottumwa.us/departments/police/
Agency Case Number #201900040120

Missing Persons
Missing Person / NamUs #MP81668

 

[BrownBear]

Circumstances of Disappearance: The last known contact with Timothy was 03-18-2018 via Facebook Messenger. Timothy's Facebook has not been active since. Family reported Timothy missing on 8-28-2019.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

 

[wendybtn]

NamUs page still active.

 

[dotr]

Des Moines River John Doe (2022) is now Identified

Ottumwa Police Department and Southeast Missouri State University Team with Othram to Identify Des Moines River John Doe

dnasolves.com

 

[Unalienable Rights]

Remains found on the bank of Des Moines River identified as missing Ottumwa man

Timothy Fortney is the second long-missing Ottumwa resident whose remains have been identified through DNA testing.

www.desmoinesregister.com

DNA testing has identified remains found on the bank of the Des Moines River near Keosauqua in 2022 as those of an Ottumwa man missing since 2018.

Ottumwa police said Friday that testing on a human femur the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office recovered from the riverbank showed it was that of Timothy William-Michal Fortney, 22, whose mother first reported him missing in 2019. He had been listed in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System since 2021.
*****
The testing of the remains labeled "Des Moines River John Doe" was conducted by Southeast Missouri State University staff and students with the help of Othram, a Houston company whose DNASolves program aims to help solve "unsolvable" cases, according to a news release.

 

[johnnyhands]

I first saw this news in the Othram press release, but didn’t have his age as reported in the Des Moines Register article above (thanks, Unalienable Rights):

Des Moines River John Doe (2022) is now Identified

Ottumwa Police Department and Southeast Missouri State University Team with Othram to Identify Des Moines River John Doe

dnasolves.com

But the press release did have this information:

"Mr. Fortney was reported missing from Ottumwa, Iowa on March 17, 2018. At the time of his disappearance, Fortney was staying at the Ottumwa Residential Facility.” From my research, that facility is operated as a substance abuse half-way house operated by Iowa’s 8th Judicial Circuit. Here’s a link:

Special Services

www.8thjdcbc.com

The Othram press release also says, "[the femur from the remains'] condition was consistent with forensic, rather than archaeological, significance."

Does that mean they could tell is was from someone who had lived in the modern era, rather than centuries earlier? That’s what I think it means.

Mr. Fortney was missing since March, 2018, but reported missing by his mother in 2019. Did he escape from the facility and live as a fugitive for (at least some of) those intervening months? Or was the cause of his death related somehow to the facility?

Note, Wapello County Iowa (Ottumwa, missing from) and Van Buren County Iowa (Keosuaqua, remains found) share a SE/NW tip (similar to Utah and New Mexico) and the Des Moines River runs through both. Siri says the two cities are 48 miles away from each other, by car.