NJ NJ - Vernon, WhtMale 50-70, UP1720, arthritis, upper denture, Spalding shoes, Dockers pants, Apr'97

[NJEverCurious]

NamUs #UP1720 - There are no exclusions listed as of today, 26 Feb. 2019. I can't tell whether there is DNA available or not.

He is also listed on the NJ State Police site for unidentified persons.

 

[Wild Rose]

Do you know where he was found in Vernon? I don't remember this case and can't find any local news articles.

 

[NJEverCurious]

Do you know where he was found in Vernon? I don't remember this case and can't find any local news articles.

I believe he was found in Wawayanda State Park, but I'll try to dig up some local articles.

Updated: I can't find any local articles, either, but I definitely remember when this happened and I'm pretty certain it was in Wawayanda State Park. I'll ask around and see if anyone else remembers.

 

[Wild Rose]

My husband doesn't remember this. Wawayanda is a very popular spot for many visitors from outside the local area. But he had a flannel shirt like many locals.

 

[apearn]

This may not help much, but, he mows the grass in those shoes I think. See the green on the laces. That happens to my shoes so I only use 1 pair when I mow.

 

[NJEverCurious]

This may not help much, but, he mows the grass in those shoes I think. See the green on the laces. That happens to my shoes so I only use 1 pair when I mow.

True, but the green staining could also be from hiking in the state park or from being out in the elements for so long (mold or fungus of some sort?).

 

[NJEverCurious]

It seems like some of our local news outlets don't have online news archives going back this far. I tried NJ.com, but the search results on their site stop in the 2000's. NJHerald.com only goes back to 2005 in their search results. I'm not sure we will ever find local news articles about this UID.

 

[Wild Rose]

I thought the green stain looked like algae or mildew. That area is elevated from the lower valley but when I've been there, the area is damp. Thanks for checking the Herald. My first thought for this soul was that he was left there from the city. The county has in the past had bodies left in the heavily wooded areas, not far from major cities and these parks are so popular because they are an easy day trip from New York City area. But, I've thought that before, and they were local victims.

 

[NJEverCurious]

I thought the green stain looked like algae or mildew. That area is elevated from the lower valley but when I've been there, the area is damp. Thanks for checking the Herald. My first thought for this soul was that he was left there from the city. The county has in the past had bodies left in the heavily wooded areas, not far from major cities and these parks are so popular because they are an easy day trip from New York City area. But, I've thought that before, and they were local victims.

If this person was in fact found in Wawayanda SP, I guess it could go either way (local or not), depending on how far into the park he was located. What makes me think he wasn't local is that there were no matching MP's locally at the time.

 

[Tricia]

Bump it up

 

[rob525]

First MP I thought of is below. I think it is too long since the date he was last seen, but there is nothing really to go on.

NJ - John 'Jack' Muldoon, 32, Byram, 2 Sept 1950

 

[NJEverCurious]

First MP I thought of is below. I think it is too long since the date he was last seen, but there is nothing really to go on.

NJ - John 'Jack' Muldoon, 32, Byram, 2 Sept 1950

Take a look at the UID's shoes on NamUs. Spalding sneakers with rubber soles. I can't find anything about the history of the Spalding company's shoe-making, but these shoes look pretty modern to me. Late 1980's into the 1990's, I think.

 

[rob525]

Yes I was thinking about the shoes and shirt. I did not look at the shoes but did see that Taiwan R.O.C. seems to have been formed in 1949. I wonder about the use of the Taiwan R.O.C. on the label as new item, I believe merely say "Taiwan" I don't know if the use of "R.O.C." corresponds with Taiwan's representation of China in the UN ( which ended in 1971)?

As for the shoes if they are late 80's early 90's- The only way that works is if Jack Muldoon remained in the area for 40 some years after the last time he was seen by family. That would also mean that he was deceased for an extended period of time before being found ( 8-10 years I would guess). Like I said, I doesn't seem plausible.

 

[NJEverCurious]

I commented this morning on the thread for Jack Muldoon. I wish the relative who posted it would reply and provide more information. For example, I wonder if there was some incident or event at the wedding reception that may have precipitated his leaving. And what was the rest of his life like? What were his usual habits (e.g., Did he frequently hop trains and travel the rails?)? Is there DNA available? Was his disappearance reported to police? Lots of questions and not a lot of information to go on.

 

[rob525]

Take a look at the UID's shoes on NamUs. Spalding sneakers with rubber soles. I can't find anything about the history of the Spalding company's shoe-making, but these shoes look pretty modern to me. Late 1980's into the 1990's, I think.

I did find a shoe with a similar sole on eBay that the seller states were from the 90's, which supports what you are saying. Unfortunately I haven't been able to narrow it down.

 

[NJEverCurious]

I did find a shoe with a similar sole on eBay that the seller states were from the 90's, which supports what you are saying. Unfortunately I haven't been able to narrow it down.View attachment 174279

I wish NamUs had a picture of the tag from inside the shoes. I would think there might be a style number or something that could possibly help narrow it down.

 

[rob525]

Also, the NJ State Police site mention a pair of Dockers pants. So I found this on Wikipedia:

"Levi Strauss & Co., then specializing in denim, introduced the Dockers brand in 1986."

 

[NJEverCurious]

I'm not sure what made me think about this poor man this morning, but I went back to NamUs and looked at the record again. (Public view only because I forgot my password and got locked out.) I think another challenge in locating local news stories about this UI is that he was found about two weeks before the notorious pizza delivery murders in Franklin Borough. I'm not saying there wouldn't have been local news coverage of this man being found, just that it may have been quickly overshadowed by those awful murders, which made national news. The NJ Herald has been sold to a bigger organization, so I checked the archives again to see whether they went back farther than 2005. No luck.

The other thought that came to my mind is about weather. This man was completely skeletonized. There was a blizzard from March 31-April 1, 1997, and Vernon got between 10 and 20" of snow. I think NJ got quite a lot of snow that winter and the winter before. So he must have been there a while to be completely skeletonized, but NamUs says this was a "near or complete skeleton." If his remains were there for a long time, I would expect there to be more damage from animals or more pieces missing. (Sorry. I don't mean to sound insensitive.) I bet this makes it difficult to estimate when he passed.