Identified! KY - Eddyville, Lake Barkley, WhtMale 35-50, UP75, wrapped in tire chains anchored by hydraulic jack, May’99 - Roger Dale Parham (Wanted by FBI)

[prncsspeech]

Regarding the poor thing being wrapped up in tire chains: here in western KY tire chains are pretty much never necessary. If there's more than a few inches of snow/ice on the ground everything shuts down and roads are very slowly cleared by the city. We don't have chain requirements like they do out in Colorado, for instance. Here's our state's law about it:
"Kentucky
No person shall use chains on a highway not covered with ice unless the wheel rests upon an ice-shoe at least six inches wide. This means chains are permitted when required for safety reasons." Here's What You Need to Know About the Chain Laws in Each State

From just a cursory glance at the states surrounding western KY in particular (MO, IL, TN) there is no requirement for chains but they are permitted when necessary.

If Doe was a trucker, this points to him being from waaaaay out of town, or at least making cross-country trips. But if he had the chains stored away, someone would have to know about them to search for them, right?

OR if the chains and jack belonged to whoever did this to him, they would definitely be a traveler.

Eddyville is right off I-24 and I-69/Western KY Parkway, so really this could have just been a convenient dumping ground, as both interstates can take you to another state easily within a day from Western KY. Nashville from Eddyville is 1.5 hour's drive, for reference.

Whoever Doe is, if these were his clothes, he wasn't hurting for cash. From my research, Voit shoes appeared to be a lower-end brand (I'm a 90s baby, please correct me if I'm wrong in my ignorance!), but the Reebok and Dallas Cowboys jacket points to someone with money to spare- at least, a little. I think it also points to him being conscious in his presentation; I've known a couple of truckers in my life, and they seem to be more concerned with comfort than fashion. But everyone is different, so who knows!


ETA MOO

 

[PezCandy]

Regarding the poor thing being wrapped up in tire chains: here in western KY tire chains are pretty much never necessary. If there's more than a few inches of snow/ice on the ground everything shuts down and roads are very slowly cleared by the city. We don't have chain requirements like they do out in Colorado, for instance. Here's our state's law about it:
"Kentucky
No person shall use chains on a highway not covered with ice unless the wheel rests upon an ice-shoe at least six inches wide. This means chains are permitted when required for safety reasons." Here's What You Need to Know About the Chain Laws in Each State

From just a cursory glance at the states surrounding western KY in particular (MO, IL, TN) there is no requirement for chains but they are permitted when necessary.

If Doe was a trucker, this points to him being from waaaaay out of town, or at least making cross-country trips. But if he had the chains stored away, someone would have to know about them to search for them, right?

OR if the chains and jack belonged to whoever did this to him, they would definitely be a traveler.

Eddyville is right off I-24 and I-69/Western KY Parkway, so really this could have just been a convenient dumping ground, as both interstates can take you to another state easily within a day from Western KY. Nashville from Eddyville is 1.5 hour's drive, for reference.

Whoever Doe is, if these were his clothes, he wasn't hurting for cash. From my research, Voit shoes appeared to be a lower-end brand (I'm a 90s baby, please correct me if I'm wrong in my ignorance!), but the Reebok and Dallas Cowboys jacket points to someone with money to spare- at least, a little. I think it also points to him being conscious in his presentation; I've known a couple of truckers in my life, and they seem to be more concerned with comfort than fashion. But everyone is different, so who knows!

great observations!
Also judging by his attire and the time frame he was dumped and found it would have been cold out right? I’m a northerner, MN by Canada so honestly I’m used to the 6+mos of heavy snow and blizzards and the extreme -negative weather, I’m not sure what states dwindle down on the snow or do not get any. I was reading the doe network and NamUs again and it states that his poor body was unrecognizable due to vast decomp, I would assume that his body would have been somewhat preserved if it was cold, but not necessarily if the lake wasn’t frozen? Not sure how that works more down south.

 

[prncsspeech]

@PezCandy On post #40 I went into just a bit of detail about the weather around Eddyville during that time period- I didn't look at every single day from Nov. 1998 to May 1999 but just glancing at each month there were only about two times it dipped below freezing. The lake definitely wouldn't have been frozen, which does make sense compared to the decomp, as you stated. The weather in western KY never gets into the negatives- MOO

So it definitely would have been cold, especially with the wind coming off the lake. Obviously we have no clue if he had spent any time whatsoever near where he was found, but he for sure would have been chilled if he had.

I'm becoming more and more convinced he was/had recently come from the north or at least somewhere that experiences quite cold temps.

 

[PezCandy]

@prncsspeech I was thinking that he was from a chillier area too, he was wearing the t-shirt and 2 jackets. Usually that means A) it’s pretty cold B) not used to the colder weather (example, in FL I’ve noticed people throw jackets and sweaters on when it’s 70 degrees out, which i think is nuts cuz I’d be dang near in a bikini over here if it was like that LOL!)
As for the tire chains, I live on a dirt road and the trucks that do maintenance on it all have those heavy tire chains too.

our John Doe was all wrapped up in tire chains, electrical wire, and has the blankets wrapped around his neck, which makes me think that he must have had an extensive neck injury (broken, slashed, etc) gives me the chills.

 

[prncsspeech]

our John Doe was all wrapped up in tire chains, electrical wire, and has the blankets wrapped around his neck, which makes me think that he must have had an extensive neck injury (broken, slashed, etc) gives me the chills.

BBM

I hadn't even thought of that! My mind went to strangulation, but he definitely could have sustained some sort of cut. I would think a broken neck would be reported along with his healed leg break, though.

 

[MadMcGoo]

ALL great points! I think we’re all on the same page, at least in the same chapter!

I was wondering about the chains too. I don’t know a lot about snow/tire chains, but I’m assuming they make different sized chains for different tires. That would be a huge detail to know.

Per the www: “Front-wheel-drive vehicles must put snow chains on their front tires, and rear-wheel-drive vehicles must put them on their rear axle. ... Ideally, you should put tire chains on all four tires for all types of vehicles. By using four tire chains, you'll be able to obtain the best possible traction and balance.”

That alone would tell us a lot.

The part of TX I’m from, everyone either owns a 4-wheel drive vehicle that is more than sufficient for the kind of “snow storms” we get here (if and when it does snow that much). So I’m thinking the victim and person responsible were not from the immediate area.

The windbreaker doesn’t make me think of cold weather...I carry one with me year round

 

[Warwick1991]

It looks like the kind of brass button they use on pea coats, car coats, etc. There would be a shank and loop underneath for sewing on.

Or it could be the top half of a snap, like the waistband on a pair of jeans. They say he was wearing jeans, so it could be his, but I wouldn't think a picture of the snap or button would be very interesting. None of his other clothing would use that kind of fastener, I wouldn't think.

I was studying the silver button carefully, and the image is upside down... I see “Made in China” lettering around the perimeter. The center symbols seem to be a “b” and an “o” or “q.” The trademark is uncommon enough to be of interest. Looks like a fastener from a pair of jeans.

 

[MadMcGoo]

I was studying the silver button carefully, and the image is upside down... I see “Made in China” lettering around the perimeter. The center symbols seem to be a “b” and an “o” or “q.” The trademark is uncommon enough to be of interest. Looks like a fastener from a pair of jeans.

You’re right! It does say “Made in China”! I agree, it’s a fastener, and uncommon...I can’t find anything remotely similar!

Whew! So, we’ve been looking at it upside down lol

 

[annemc2]

I wondered if it was a token of some sort but couldn't find anything similar and a token likely would not say "Made in China" so prominently.

So I guess it *is* a button and to me it looks like bR. I couldn't find anything at all but it was kind of fun to see all of those old Banana Republic catalogues! I can't remember if anyone has reverse image searched it? I seem to be incapable of doing so. ((sigh))

 

[MadMcGoo]

Just watch us find out this ‘button’ fell off the jacket of one of the crime scene investigators and it has absolutely no relevance to this case. I can imagine that happening! But at least we’ll be able to tell the crime scene guy all about the garment he was wearing back in 1999! I still won’t rest until I know what exactly it is.

eta: reverse image searches are not my forte either...

 

[PezCandy]

Just watch us find out this ‘button’ fell off the jacket of one of the crime scene investigators and it has absolutely no relevance to this case. I can imagine that happening! But at least we’ll be able to tell the crime scene guy all about the garment he was wearing back in 1999! I still won’t rest until I know what exactly it is.

eta: reverse image searches are not my forte either...

That’s funny cuz I could totally see that being the case lol!

I tried the reverse image search and nothing came up except a suggestion saying that if the image needed to be more clear. Ugh.

 

[carbuff]

I can't even make out the "made in China"

 

[MadMcGoo]

Understandably so. I posted the first image from my album which was one I had been playing with; saturation, contrast, etc. Here’s the original image, just flipped...

eta: Now I see a pair of eyeglasses with legs

 

[carbuff]

That really could be glasses. The "legs" would be the arms. But it looks more like bd to me?

 

[MadMcGoo]

Here’s a few interesting articles I found just using “Blue Star Transportation” as the keyword(s)...

Cincinnati, Ohio - March 26, 1929

Dayton, Ohio - June 28, 1931

Camden, NJ - 11/18/1947

Orlando, FL - 10/8/1998

Cincinnati, OH - 8/7/1989

Orlando, FL. - 3/23/2000

 

[momrids6]

I was wondering about the chains too. I don’t know a lot about snow/tire chains, but I’m assuming they make different sized chains for different tires. That would be a huge detail to know.

rsbm: semi size chains. They mention this in the flyer; heavy duty snow chains. They could also be mud chains which have larger links and are even more heavy duty- as they take more of a beating in mud.
https://www.websleuths.com/forums/attachments/63404b73-2693-4ab5-a8ce-33da52ffdc7f-jpeg.226190/

 

[MadMcGoo]

rsbm: semi size chains. They mention this in the flyer; heavy duty snow chains. They could also be mud chains which have larger links and are even more heavy duty- as they take more of a beating in mud.
https://www.websleuths.com/forums/attachments/63404b73-2693-4ab5-a8ce-33da52ffdc7f-jpeg.226190/

Thank you!! I’ve read that alert 50 times and still missed it

 

[R. Towle]

So I'm from the UK and know very little about snow chains etc. However I'm a massive fan Ice Road Truckers, and that's the first thing that popped into my head when I read about the heavy duty snow chains, eight ton jack, the Blue Star Transportation Band and especially his clothing. Wherever and whenever he died it must have been pretty damn cold for him to be wearing all that.
I know, it's a bit of a far fetched theory from an unknowing Brit... But thinking outside of the box.

 

[PezCandy]

So I'm from the UK and know very little about snow chains etc. However I'm a massive fan Ice Road Truckers, and that's the first thing that popped into my head when I read about the heavy duty snow chains, eight ton jack, the Blue Star Transportation Band and especially his clothing. Wherever and whenever he died it must have been pretty damn cold for him to be wearing all that.
I know, it's a bit of a far fetched theory from an unknowing Brit... But thinking outside of the box.

I’m from a snowy area and I immediately thought of snow chains when I first read about this case. My significant others father is a trucker and he always has back up jackets of sorts in his truck cuz of the temp change from state to state. I feel either John Does was a trucker, or killed by one.
all imo of course

 

[Valiant]

Regarding the poor thing being wrapped up in tire chains: here in western KY tire chains are pretty much never necessary. If there's more than a few inches of snow/ice on the ground everything shuts down and roads are very slowly cleared by the city. We don't have chain requirements like they do out in Colorado, for instance. Here's our state's law about it:
"Kentucky
No person shall use chains on a highway not covered with ice unless the wheel rests upon an ice-shoe at least six inches wide. This means chains are permitted when required for safety reasons." Here's What You Need to Know About the Chain Laws in Each State

From just a cursory glance at the states surrounding western KY in particular (MO, IL, TN) there is no requirement for chains but they are permitted when necessary.

If Doe was a trucker, this points to him being from waaaaay out of town, or at least making cross-country trips. But if he had the chains stored away, someone would have to know about them to search for them, right?

OR if the chains and jack belonged to whoever did this to him, they would definitely be a traveler.

Eddyville is right off I-24 and I-69/Western KY Parkway, so really this could have just been a convenient dumping ground, as both interstates can take you to another state easily within a day from Western KY. Nashville from Eddyville is 1.5 hour's drive, for reference.

Whoever Doe is, if these were his clothes, he wasn't hurting for cash. From my research, Voit shoes appeared to be a lower-end brand (I'm a 90s baby, please correct me if I'm wrong in my ignorance!), but the Reebok and Dallas Cowboys jacket points to someone with money to spare- at least, a little. I think it also points to him being conscious in his presentation; I've known a couple of truckers in my life, and they seem to be more concerned with comfort than fashion. But everyone is different, so who knows!


ETA MOO

Many semi-trucks are driven cross-country and will carry tire chains because they never know when a particular truck will end up in an area where they may be needed.