MI MI- Detroit, UncMale, 18+, dead in an abandoned warehouse after a fire, found with a note: a man's name and address; "two sons". Feb 1972.

[cheemsg]

This is a really strange listing.
This badly burned body was found in an abandoned warehouse. No PMI is given.
A knit sweater and a metal watch were found on his body.
A leather change purse was found near his body, with a small note inside that read:

Mr. Phyllis Rozowski 8986 Keller Street West Jefferson Ave Detroit MIchigan Two son

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

 

[victoriarobinson642]

Only one Phyllis Rozowski that I can find on Ancestry, not from anywhere near Michigan, and apparently female.

 

[victoriarobinson642]

The address is a real place in Detroit.

8986 Keller St · 8986 Keller St, Detroit, MI 48209

Building

www.google.com

 

[doublestop]

A few random observations--"Mr. Phyllis"---Mr implies male, but Phyllis is traditionally a female name. Jefferson St. is nowhere near Keller. And the building pictured in google maps is 8981--8986 would be across the street and is an empty lot.

 

[cheemsg]

A few random observations--"Mr. Phyllis"---Mr implies male, but Phyllis is traditionally a female name. Jefferson St. is nowhere near Keller. And the building pictured in google maps is 8981--8986 would be across the street and is an empty lot.

It might not have been an empty lot in 1972, though.
Maybe he believed PR had two different addresses in Detroit.

 

[annemc2]

A few random observations--"Mr. Phyllis"---Mr implies male, but Phyllis is traditionally a female name. Jefferson St. is nowhere near Keller. And the building pictured in google maps is 8981--8986 would be across the street and is an empty lot.

I'm seeing the name Phyllis come up on several baby name websites for either a boy or a girl. I honestly have never heard of a male Phyllis but what do I know!? It's of Greek origin and means "foliage."

 

[cheemsg]

I'm seeing the name Phyllis come up on several baby name websites for either a boy or a girl. I honestly have never heard of a male Phyllis but what do I know!? It's of Greek origin and means "foliage."

It could mean to say Mrs, but his handwriting was strange, or just misread, written in a rush or something.

 

[Susikatze]

It might not have been an empty lot in 1972, though.
Maybe he believed PR had two different addresses in

From aerial and detail view it looks like the empty lots were once residential since there are abandoned fruit trees in what appears to have been backyards, abandoned driveways that lead to nowhere and run down fences and sidewalks that make no sense if a lot is empty.
It looks like it once was a modest neighborhood, probably build in the 1920s or 30s until it fell on hard times or the real estate bubble burst and people moved out and many plots were cleared.
The municipial sewage plant is actually right next to it. May have played its part, too.

 

[breachtones]

Only one Phyllis Rozowski that I can find on Ancestry, not from anywhere near Michigan, and apparently female.

What about Phillip Rozowski? Handwriting might be near-illegible.

 

[victoriarobinson642]

What about Phillip Rozowski? Handwriting might be near-illegible.

None in Detroit

 

[cheemsg]

None in Detroit

PR might have lived in Detroit for less than a year 50 years ago. He's probably not even still alive.

 

[R. Towle]

Back in the day the formal way of addressing a married woman was to write Mr and then the woman's name. So we could be looking for a contact that is indeed a woman.

 

[mewmew]

Just an observation/pondering - I find it interesting that his body was badly burned, but a knit sweater was still identifiable on him. I guess I assumed if he was badly burned, that a knit sweater would’ve been burnt to smithereens.

 

[doublestop]

Back in the day the formal way of addressing a married woman was to write Mr and then the woman's name. So we could be looking for a contact that is indeed a woman.

Not in the US. Here it would have been Mrs. Robert Jones, not Mr Phyllis Jones.

 

[subaw0067]

Well thats a polish surname if I've ever heard one. In the 1950 census there is a Rozowski family with two sons that lived on Grant Street in Detroit, but the wife is listed as widowed and I can't find the deceased husbands name anywhere, but he would have died prior to 1950. There can't be that many Rozowski families in Michigan, I wonder if there is a connection to this one? I can only find one Rozowski in michigan on findagrave and that's someone who died in 1991.

However, there are a LOT of Rozowskis in Wisconsin, which is not far at all.

 

[cheemsg]

Well thats a polish surname if I've ever heard one. In the 1950 census there is a Rozowski family with two sons that lived on Grant Street in Detroit, but the wife is listed as widowed and I can't find the deceased husbands name anywhere, but he would have died prior to 1950. There can't be that many Rozowski families in Michigan, I wonder if there is a connection to this one? I can only find one Rozowski in michigan on findagrave and that's someone who died in 1991.

However, there are a LOT of Rozowskis in Wisconsin, which is not far at all.

He's definitely not the Rozowksi in question. He was just carrying this guys name and address around for some reason.

 

[subaw0067]

He's definitely not the Rozowksi in question. He was just carrying this guys name and address around for some reason.

Maybe the coinpurse was completely unrelated to the decedent?

 

[cheemsg]

Maybe the coinpurse was completely unrelated to the decedent?

The notes always seemed really ominous to me. I can't think of a good reason why you would note on someone's contact information that they have "two sons"?

 

[subaw0067]

The notes always seemed really ominous to me. Why would you note on someone's contact information that they have two sons?

The only thing I can think of is that he was possibly didn't speak english and he had it written down so that he could show a cab driver or whoever where he was going, and noted that they had 2 sons in case there were mulitple families of the same surname?

 

[Innotts]

is it two son or two sons? Two son is how I thought you say Tucson, but then I’m in the UK so what do I know!