KY KY - Louisville, Male 20-50, UP109, tattoo “GEORG”, dark curly hair, fresh sutures, Apr’97

[MadMcGoo]

Unidentified Person / NamUs #UP109
Male, Uncertain
​

Date of Discovery: April 6, 1997
Location of Discovery: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky
Mapped (38.2796789, -85.7876860)
Estimated Year of Death: 1996-1997
Estimated PMI: Months
Remains: Not recognizable - Decomposing/putrefaction
Cause of Death: Possible drowning
Estimated Age: 20-50 years old
Height: 5'5" to 5'7"
Weight: 168 lbs.
Hair Color: Black, with minimal graying and extremely curly
Eye Color: Unknown
Scars/Marks: Two Fresh (3 days to a week old) sutures found on the scalp on top of the head.
Tattoo: Partial tattoo "GEORG..." on left forearm

Circumstance Notes: The victim was floating in the Ohio River just a few feet from shore near the boat ramps at the McAlpine Locks. He had lacerations and fractures likely from a boat propeller.

Investigating Agencies
- Jefferson County Coroner's Office
Amy Burrows-Beckham (502) 574-6262 or (502) 852-5587
Agency Case Number: FA-97-21
- Louisville Metro Police Department
Anne Hogan (502) 574-7111
Agency Case Number: 97-075
NCIC Number: 80-97-0000001
(First report number is initial death investigation, 2nd number is Unidentified Report for NCIC)

Identifiers
Dentals: Available
Fingerprints: Not available
DNA: Available in FBI NMPDD

Sources
NamUs
The Doe Network
The Courier-Journal (April 7, 1997)

 

[MadMcGoo]

Body found near McAlpine Locks April 7, 1997​

“The body of an unidentified man washed ashore in Louisville near the McAlpine Locks yesterday evening.

The Louisville Fire Department retrieved the body around 7 p.m. after someone spotted it about 2 feet from the shore near the boat ramps.

The body showed signs of trauma but had no visible gunshot or knife wounds, Louisville Police Sgt. Robert Fraction said.

Fraction said an autopsy will be performed this morning to determine whether the trauma occurred before or after death.

He said police couldn’t determine the victim’s race because of discoloration. He said once further information about the body is available, police will compare it with missing person reports.”

———————————————————
Man’s body found in Ohio River; death ruled a drowning April 8, 1997​

“A man whose nude body was found in the Ohio River at Louisville on Sunday evening apparently drowned, a deputy coroner said yesterday.

The decomposed body of what appears to be a black male had been in the river at least a week, Jefferson County Deputy Coroner Carl Adams said.

Officials have been unable to identify him, but he had a crude tattoo that said “George” on the inside of his left forearm, Adams said.

The man’s age could range from 20s to 40s, Adams said.

The Louisville Fire Department retrieved the body around 7 p.m. Sunday near the boat ramps at the McAlpine Locks.

 

[MadMcGoo]

I’m trying to find anything to verify the fresh sutures. Not that Doe Network isn’t correct, I just haven’t seen that detail any other place.

I found a “could be possible” match to the “Skipper” here...
James Clyde Gramling

Missing from Georgia since March 1997
- 20 year old white male
- 5’5”-6’0”, 120-140 lbs.
- Dark hair, brown eyes
He left home on a 4-wheeler and never returned...the ATV was found a week later, covered in blood, in a wooded area. There have been no traces of him though. Two POI were questioned but nothing came of it.

I do believe someone nefarious happened, but at the hands of whom/what? I’m not sure. And there’s the fact that they’ve never found any clues to his whereabouts. I was thinking, maybe the tattoo reads “Georgia” as opposed to “George”????

And the photo provided of James, in my opinion, shows him with dark curly (almost kinky) hair. (That could be a blemish in the photograph) And he does not appear Caucasian to me. There are conflicting reports as to Skipper’s race. I’ve seen him listed as white, black, unknown and unsure.

 

[MadMcGoo]

It’s just now registering that the newspaper articles mention this is a black male! Why is his race listed as “Uncertain” on his NamUs and Doe Network profiles?

 

[annemc2]

Aaaargh frustrating! The info is all over the place. I'm guessing/hoping that they checked hospitals in the area for any George that came in during the previous two or so weeks. We didn't have EMRs back then but all census information was definitely in the computer.

 

[MadMcGoo]

A few, haven’t been ruled out but aren’t particularly promising. I’m guessing the hair is what led them to speculate that he was black, but PMI contributed to the uncertainty?

George William Hawkins

Newport, KY since April 1961
- 46 years old, 5’6”-5’9”, 190-195 lbs, brown hair & eyes
George Tsolakis

- Marlborough, CT since February 1992
- 38 years old, 5’0”, 200 lbs., black hair, brown eyes
- “Tsolakis was last seen by associates at the Greek American Sports Club located at 666Maple Ave in Hartford CT on 2/23/92. On 3/20/92 Tsolakis's vehicle was recovered at Foxwoods Casino Ledyard, CT. Tsolakis had been issued a complimentary buffet meal "comp" ticket on 3/16/92 and was identified by a casino employee as receiving this ticket.”
George Marcel Lutas

Germantown, MD since Nov. 1991
- 26 years old, 6’0”, 170 lbs., brown hair & eyes
- White spot of hair on right rear of head
George Ostermann

- Queens, NY since May 1996
- 44 years old, 5’7”, 160 lbs, sandy brown hair, brown eyes

 

[carbuff]

It’s just now registering that the newspaper articles mention this is a black male! Why is his race listed as “Uncertain” on his NamUs and Doe Network profiles?

Preliminary guesses about a body's race, sex, age, etc. often turn out to be mistaken, and it sounds like the initial assessment of race was based mainly on skin tone ("He said police couldn’t determine the victim’s race because of discoloration.")

Probably the postmortem examination came up with more ambiguity. Curly black hair could be Irish or Mediterranean, for instance. I think we need to be more flexible than usual about this guy's background.

 

[MadMcGoo]

Yah...this one may come down to the recent sutures and just the name George. Like annemc2 was saying, there’s probably a record of him somewhere but I doubt it’s going to be in the form of a missing person report. Even if he was reported missing, the tattoo may not have been mentioned. I had thrown race to the wind until I was reading back over the articles, but I think I’ll let it go again. I’ll just keep an eye out for “extremely curly, black hair”.

Maybe we should compile a list of the most pressing questions to send to Amy?

 

[MadMcGoo]

How about this guy?? I can’t yet explain the “George”, but everything else fits perfectly, IMO

Donald Ray Billings

Missing from Virginia since February 1997 (found April 1997 with a PMI of “weeks”)
- 30 years old (20-50)
- 5,6”, 160 pounds (5’6”, 168 pounds)
- Brown hair & brown eyes (Black, unknown)
- According to The Charley Project (BBM):

Billings was involved in an automobile accident on Route 16 near the Hungry Mother Grocery. in Marion, Virginia at 5:00 p.m. on February 14, 1997. He had been driving his sister's car. He did not appear to be injured in the accident and he told the other driver involved that he was all right.

Billings walked away from the scene of the crash, down the road towards Mitchell Valley. He has never been heard from again. Weather conditions were cold and icy on the day of his disappearance.

It is believed that Billings may have hitched a ride with a truck driver at the Village Truck Stop along Interstate 81 in Atkins, Virginia. Atkins is located between Bristol and Roanoke, Virginia. Few details are available in Billings's case, which remains unsolved.

 

[carbuff]

That's a very likely possibility.

If he hitched a ride with a truck driver and then died from undiagnosed/untreated head injury, the driver might have just dumped him into the water. George might not be his own name, could be friend, brother, a personal reference--who knows.

 

[MadMcGoo]

Potential Matches:

1. Donald Ray Billings
2. George Dewey Nutting

(? for ME) clarification on race/ethnicity

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Man found in river, with 'GEORG' tattoo​

The body of a man was found floating in the Ohio River on April 6, 1997.

He was estimated to have been between 20 and 50 years old, with very curly black hair. He had a partial tattoo on his left forearm that said, "GEORG".

Investigators believe he had been dead for weeks when he was found. He was 5-foot-6 and weighed 168 pounds.

A skull, tattoos and 'Baby Francis': What we know about 8 bodies never ID'd in Louisville

In Louisville, the remains of eight people, including a baby found in the trash, have gone unidentified over the years. Here's what we know.

www.courier-journal.com