MN MN - Minneapolis, WhtMale, UP102933, 25-35, Boxcar Fire, May '86

[victoriarobinson642]

NAMUS:

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

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Sex - Male
Race / Ethnicity - White / Caucasian
Estimated Age Range (Years) - 25-35
Height - 5' 7"-5' 9"
Date Body Found - May 6, 1986
Location - Minneapolis, Minnesota
Circumstances of Recovery - The decedent and another individual were in a retired railroad boxcar that caught fire due to a charcoal grill.

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(No NAMUS case for the other person, unsure if they were IDed)

 

[dotr]

Who is Hennepin County John Doe (1986)?

Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office Teams with Othram to Identify a 1986 John Doe

dnasolves.com

''In May 1986, a call was received about a fire at 24th and Elm Street in Minneapolis, Minnesota, just east of downtown between I-35W and Highway 280. When fire department officials arrived at the scene, they found a retired railroad boxcar engulfed in flames. The bodies of two individuals were discovered inside of the boxcar, which had caught fire due to a charcoal grill. While one of the individuals was identified, one was not. The unidentified individual was determined to be a white male who stood between 5’6” and 5’10” and weighed between 140 and 150 pounds. No other identifying characteristics for the man could be determined, and he became known as a John Doe.

Details of the case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP102933. Despite the efforts of investigators, with few leads to go on, the man's identity is still unknown after nearly forty years. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office is seeking Othram's assistance in hopes that advanced DNA technology will provide new leads about the man’s identity.''

 

[MarziPanda]

I wonder if there's anything public (newspapers etc) that says who the other person was identified as. It might give some clues - like if that person was homeless, this person was likely to have also been homeless.

 

[Melt71]

<snip> The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office is seeking Othram's assistance in hopes that advanced DNA technology will provide new leads about the man’s identity.''

@othram's page for the case Who is Hennepin County John Doe (1986)?

 

[dotr]

Who is Hennepin County John Doe (1986)?

Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office Teams with Othram to Identify a 1986 John Doe

dnasolves.com

''A follow-up investigation was launched, leading investigators to potential relatives of the man. This investigation led to the identification of Hennepin County John Doe, who is now known to be James R. Wakkinen, born in January of 1947.

A portion of Othram's casework costs associated with the advanced DNA testing and forensic genetic genealogy completed in this case was contributed by donors through a DNASolves® crowdfund. We are grateful to everyone that helped crowdfund this case and other DNASolves cases. Remaining casework costs were provided by the Roads to Justice funding program''

 

[kforbes862]

I'm happy to see this case identified and closed

 

[othram]

I'm happy to see this case identified and closed

The power of crowdfunding!

 

[kforbes862]

There is another railway related john doe case in the Minneapolis area that I'm anxious to see closed too.

 

[othram]

There is another railway related john doe case in the Minneapolis area that I'm anxious to see closed too.

Let's solve it!

 

[kforbes862]

I believe the other case is either awaiting funding or is already in extraction for dna to do fgg

 

[summergirl1]

Project Justice funding identifies 1986 burn victim

A nonprofit organization dedicated to solving cold cases and crimes through funding advanced DNA testing to assist law enforcement has announced that the victim of a 1986 boxcar fire in Minneapolis has been identified Thursday.

kstp.com