Identified! MS - Biloxi, UnkSex/Race Adult, UP78458, Skeletal on Roof of Building, Sep'19 - Gary Lee White

[Gardener1850]

Sadly, the only timeline that is going to jump out at anyone from aerial photos of Biloxi will be Before hurricane Katrina and after hurricane Katrina.

I wonder if we can find any helicopter video footage from after Katrina showing this building? It might have a clearer image than the Google Earth photos or at least give us an idea on if this building flooded up to roof.

MOO

 

[YaYa_521]

If y'all determine the remains were there back in the 1980s, this lady might possibly be the deceased. Marguarite went missing from her home which showed signs of a struggle. Her car was located at a Holiday Inn in Biloxi with blood on the truck liner. Her body has never been found. This skeleton was located only 17 minutes away. If I mapped it correctly the trip from her home to rooftop then to hotel is about 30 mins. My hesitation is the amount of time that has passed. Can a tarped skeleton remain undisturbed after this many years in the elements, especially hurricanes?

MS - MS - Marguarite Mayden, 61, Biloxi, 30 April 1980

Eta- changed date from 1990s to 1980s.

 

[bombardier]

(Just checking - are we sure we are looking at the right building? I just don't know how some tarp would stay on a skeleton for 10+ years! I can barely get tarp staked in the ground to stay still while camping.... )

more missing people from cities within an hour from Biloxi;
Glen Allen Fayard, 2006, from Bay St. Louis, MS.

Joe Taylor Vaughn, 2005, from Vancleave, MS.

Floyd L. Price, 2004, from Diamondhead.

Erin M. Davis, 2002, from Nicholson (disappeared while pregnant).

Daniel Murry Dutton, 2000, from Long Beach (but likely disappeared in Florida)

 

[bombardier]

Wow! Thank you for the images @bombardier

That made me wonder how could a body on the roof go unnoticed by maintenance workers for so long? Perhaps the building has been vacant for a very long time and no one has checked the roof?

I found that the building was listed for sale about a year ago and the sale is "pending" on the Remax website: 875 Barthes St, Biloxi, MS 39530

Maybe the remains were only discovered because of workers inspecting the building as part of the finalization of the sale?

MOO.

now im even more confused how that very building could be for sale, photographed, and still no one found the body until a year later! also, $135k for that little old warehouse??

 

[Gardener1850]

now im even more confused how that very building could be for sale, photographed, and still no one found the body until a year later! also, $135k for that little old warehouse??

There are no interior photos there, only the outside. If the realtor who listed it didn't go inside, they probably wouldn't bother going to the roof to take photos either. The value might be in the land/location.

That said, I'm starting to doubt that the object we are seeing is the tarp with the body. Perhaps it could be a broken chimney or AC unit instead?

Looking at the location zoomed out it is only about 3 or 4 blocks from the oceanfront and there is water on both sides: Google Maps
I don't know how a body would still be there after Katrina. It seems like the storm surge would be over the roof.

MOO.

 

[mpnola]

It looks like a square vent or ac type unit, to me. Not a body. Which is weird because I spot "dead bodies" everywhere. All my friends think I'm a freak that is what is always my first thought hahhaha. Its part of the websleuther persona. We are required to have every scenario include a dead body

 

[Lostintheclouds]

Oh man. It seems like she's been there for a while. Does google earth / satellite photos have dating? (Edit.. I got over excited..just read the earlier posts)

Did the building recently get sold or gone under new ownership? Like prior to the current listing? I wonder if it was discovered prior to that hence the sale.

Who had access?

So many questions!

Is this the right property? Looks to be a commercial building. 875 Barthes St, Biloxi, MS 39530

If so, there is a name connected from 2018 at https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...WMAR6BAgIEAE&usg=AOvVaw07r2aMKuS3nilYbuWuVCgK

 

[bombardier]

That said, I'm starting to doubt that the object we are seeing is the tarp with the body. Perhaps it could be a broken chimney or AC unit instead?

MOO.

ohohoh, wouldn't it be funny if we've been tracking the life and death of an AC vent?
it really is hard to tell because as you zoom in, Google Maps 'simplifies' the image into a bunch of pixels and blocks so everything looks like a little colored box! for instance, this is what satellite view does to the nearby parking lot.

still, it seems like there are only 4 or 5 buildings off Barthe street, and only one looks 'vacant' as described.

The most recent satellite image was taken 3 months ago and the skeleton was described as being there 'for some time' so I'd guess the body would be present in that image, and I don't see anything else suspicious. Unless theres 2 Barthes St. in Biloxi, I'll be surprised if they're referring to another rooftop!

 

[Lostintheclouds]

Seems to me the body may have been moved some time after the person was deceased. Hopefully after the ac vent mystery photos lol.

It is quite odd that the property is listed by a seemingly endless amount of websites/ realtors. Moo

ANYONE WANT TO GO SHOPPING?

 

[JSolt1210]

I downloaded Google Earth Pro to get the satellite image dates and the 'historical satellite' feature.
the figure has been on the roof for a long time. I think we should start looking for people who disappeared in the 2000s, possibly around 2005. Let me know what yall think!
Here it is on 1/5/2010.
View attachment 207100

9/17/2007 (here the dark spots look like water damage)
View attachment 207101

I believe its still there on 4/30/2006? (oh how far technology has come)

View attachment 207103

i cant decide on the pic taken on 7/11/2005 - i definitely see the stain, but I don't know if I see the body. The dark square shadow (?) on the bottom right is now a white structure.
View attachment 207105

the farthest back Google Earth has is 2/18/1992, taken during a Geological Survey. I honestly can't make anything out. The roof looks bright white and the structure on the left now looks dark - maybe the buildings were still in use and were being maintained.
View attachment 207108

Here's a side-by-side comparison of the 4 dated pictures provided by @bombardier.

To me, it doesn't look like the object is present in 2005—just the stain—but it's certainly there from 2006 onwards. For that reason, I agree this could be related to Katrina.

@Quill mentioned that it could've been someone seeking refuge from the waters and storm surge. But is it also possible that this could've been a dead person unearthed by the floods? This article mentions "caskets displaced by Katrina" specifically in Biloxi, adding that some were "broken." And to me, the object—if it's not an AC unit—kinda does look like how a dead person might be positioned inside a casket.

 

[Valiant]

If you use Bing Maps and the birds-eye view and rotate to all 4 views, it really doesn't look like a body.

 

[Quill]

If you use Bing Maps and the birds-eye view and rotate to all 4 views, it really doesn't look like a body.

But they have already determined that it is skeletal remains. They are currently working on the identification.

 

[Valiant]

But they have already determined that it is skeletal remains. They are currently working on the identification.

While they have determined there were skeletal remains on the roof, it wasn't determined that the objects highlighted (and having been there for a decade) were remains.

 

[Quill]

Sleuthers, I don't know if I will have time to go back over Hurricane Katrina video today, but there surely are plenty floating around. The best sources will be local television as the rest of the county primarily focused on New Orleans and there was very little mainstream coverage of the MS Gulf Coast. There are also some very good videos (aerial as well as photo collages) of the before and after that are gut wrenching to watch for those who are curious. I'll see if I can find some of the local/regional news footage and link it here when I get a chance.

Getting my first good look at the map this morning, that building on Barthes St. was very much in ground zero. It appears to be about 3-4 blocks from the water (which may be why it is valued so highly in the market). I am curious to know how old that building is. It looks old which would mean that it has possibly survived not only Katrina, but also Camille in the 60's which had been the worst before Katrina, another possible reason for the value. When watching the footage there is not much left to use as landmarks except the lighthouse and the casinos. Barthes St. appears to be about 3-4 blocks behind the Beaux Rivage casino and resort, just east of I-10 and east-northeast of the Biloxi lighthouse. Many aerial videos will focus on these landmarks.


Keep in mind that if this body is related to Katrina, they may not have sought shelter on top of the building during the surge, but after. I'm including a link to some aerial photos from a part of a series that Weather Underground did on Katrina. It may be helpful in seeing what the area looked like in the wake of all the devastation.

Katrina's Surge, Part 12: Biloxi and D'Iberville, MS | Weather Underground

 

[b741ma]

Wow. Great work!
A very important date in our history to remember is hurricane Katrina, August of 2005. There were and still are many missing and unaccounted for lost souls presumed dead. Mississippi had 238 known fatalities with many additional missing people. There was a 28 foot storm surge causing many people to take shelter on top of buildings and in attics. Some of those people swam to rooftops. The storm surge caused flooding as far as 12 miles inland in some places. I have no idea where this building is in relation to that storm surge, but I am wondering if this poor soul could have been a Katrina victim.

That connects to a theory I had about the victim's identity. When I read that there were no signs of foul play I came up with only one theory. That the victim was a homeless person who decided to sleep on the roof and died of either natural causes or possibly exposure. Katrina left many people homeless and the people who were already homeless were off even worse. Could this have been someone displaced by Hurricane Katrina?

 

[Quill]

While they have determined there were skeletal remains on the roof, it wasn't determines that the objects highlighted (and having been there for a decade) were remains.

Sure. You make a very good point. I am not totally married to the idea of the remains being a fatality from Katrina, however, having lived through this horrible storm and its aftermath, I can't help but go there.

I lived over 150 miles from Biloxi and Katrina was still a hurricane when she hit our town. We had the hurricane force winds and then endured over 11 tornadoes spawned by the original storm which was 450 miles wides when it made landfall. We had massive damage and stood in water lines for weeks. So when they tell you that its damage stretched for 12 miles inland, they are meaning the storm surge itself. It was a scary time. But man, that little building was ground zero and I couldn't help but wonder about the many, many people who were unaccounted for in the aftermath.

Biloxi went from being the 3rd largest city in MS to the fifth largest due to lives lost plus those who had to leave because they were homeless. Many chose to stay and remain homeless, too, which is also another avenue to look into for the deceased.

 

[Gardener1850]

ohohoh, wouldn't it be funny if we've been tracking the life and death of an AC vent?
it really is hard to tell because as you zoom in, Google Maps 'simplifies' the image into a bunch of pixels and blocks so everything looks like a little colored box! for instance, this is what satellite view does to the nearby parking lot.

still, it seems like there are only 4 or 5 buildings off Barthe street, and only one looks 'vacant' as described.
View attachment 207122

The most recent satellite image was taken 3 months ago and the skeleton was described as being there 'for some time' so I'd guess the body would be present in that image, and I don't see anything else suspicious. Unless theres 2 Barthes St. in Biloxi, I'll be surprised if they're referring to another rooftop!

We are definitely looking at the correct building. The reporter in the video in the first post of this thread is standing in front of 875 Barthes St: Officials working to identify bones found on Biloxi roof

That's a good comparison with the car images and how they distort. The satellite view does not show clear details of things as they really are. I also think the object may be too large to be a body wrapped in a tarp as some people are seeing. Compare the size of the object on the roof to the cars. It's about a third to half the size of a car and it's closer to us than the cars because it's on the roof (meaning it's larger, possibly car-sized). I was willing to consider it could be a tent or a refrigerator box with a tarp that a homeless person set up but I think it's too big to be a tarp wrapped body. I also think that nature/the wind would have moved the object over time if it was something like a tarp or a tent or a cardboard box. Animals would have scattered the body parts a little and dragged the tarp across the roof in the process. The fact that the object is there in the same place for so long makes me think it is either a part of the building or it is a piece of heavy metal debris from Hurricane Katrina that landed on the roof.

Another thing to consider is that the reporter said the remains were found in the Southwest corner of the building. The object we have been scrutinizing is towards the Northwest corner. The Southwest corner is somewhat obscured by a tree from the satellite views. We may not be able to see the body if it is in the corner under the tree. So if the reporter got the location of the body correct then we can probably discount the mystery object we have all been looking at.

Nevertheless, this was an interesting discussion even if it was a wild goose chase.

MOO

 

[Quill]

That connects to a theory I had about the victim's identity. When I read that there were no signs of foul play I came up with only one theory. That the victim was a homeless person who decided to sleep on the roof and died of either natural causes or possibly exposure. Katrina left many people homeless and the people who were already homeless were off even worse. Could this have been someone displaced by Hurricane Katrina?

Yes! We were just posting at the same time and we are thinking along the same lines.

 

[Gardener1850]

Sure. You make a very good point. I am not totally married to the idea of the remains being a fatality from Katrina, however, having lived through this horrible storm and its aftermath, I can't help but go there.

I lived over 150 miles from Biloxi and Katrina was still a hurricane when she hit our town. We had the hurricane force winds and then endured over 11 tornadoes spawned by the original storm which was 450 miles wides when it made landfall. We had massive damage and stood in water lines for weeks. So when they tell you that its damage stretched for 12 miles inland, they are meaning the storm surge itself. It was a scary time. But man, that little building was ground zero and I couldn't help but wonder about the many, many people who were unaccounted for in the aftermath.

Biloxi went from being the 3rd largest city in MS to the fifth largest due to lives lost plus those who had to leave because they were homeless. Many chose to stay and remain homeless, too, which is also another avenue to look into for the deceased.

I do still think this could be a hurricane victim. That could account for the lack of clothes. Water has a way of removing clothing. Or the victim could have removed their clothes due to hypothermia and died on the roof shortly after that while the winds and rain took away the clothing.

 

[bombardier]

Another thing to consider is that the reporter said the remains were found in the Southwest corner of the building. The object we have been scrutinizing is towards the Northwest corner. The Southwest corner is somewhat obscured by a tree from the satellite views. We may not be able to see the body if it is in the corner under the tree. So if the reporter got the location of the body correct then we can probably discount the mystery object we have all been looking at.

Nevertheless, this was an interesting discussion even if it was a wild goose chase.

MOO

Good point! We got so hung up on that object that I forgot my cardinal directions would make more sense to as to how the remains stayed hidden for so long if they were under that tree overhang.