NY NY - Saugerties, WhtMale 35-45, 405UMNY, PJs under suit, Omega Sea Master watch, ring, Feb'70

[John/Jane Doe]

405UMNY

 

[Keiri]

Did anyone send those pics to Gil Leite's daughter to see if she recognized the ring etc? I know one of you knows her...

 

[imstilla.grandma]

NIC#U954749934

Basic Information

Race: White
Sex: Male
Age: Approximately 35 - 45 yrs. old
Height: 5' 3"
Weight: 155 pounds
Other: Wavy hair; Bald spot on crown

Remains Found: 02/01/1970
Location: Saugerties, Ulster County, NY

The remains of an unidentified male were found off a public highway, not far from the NYS Thruway. He was wearing a grey, European-style suit over pajamas. The Omega gold watch was from a company in Portugal. Markings on the ring identify it as having been manufactured in Portugal.

If you have any information, please call:

New York State Police Troop F
SP Kingston
1791 Route 209
Kingston, NY 12401
(845) 338-1702

or e-mail the information to: [email protected]

Unidentified: Saugerties, Ulster County

Remains Found: 02/01/1970 Location: Saugerties, Ulster County, NY

troopers.ny.gov

 

[adriaticnyc]

Just signed on after seeing the Websleuths alert posted to my email.

Back in April 2022 I phoned the NY State Police Ulster County office on a Sunday afternoon. A woman in the office took my contact information. To my surprise, the NY State Police detective phoned me right back, and he verified various information for Gil Leite's late wife, the Bloomfield CT address and other local details from late 1969 into the 1970s.

Not sure what additional steps the Ulster County detective will take next; I hope that he will call me again. At the conclusion of our April conversation, I had the distinct impression that he had a plan of sorts.

 

[PatLaurel]

Bumping for Saugerties John Doe!

Saugerties UP - Newspapers.com

 

[Nate_Bro]

To me he seems foreign, as well as higher class. Likely travelling from/through Canada. If so, he resembles this man who went missing from Europe a couple years before .

Arie van den Berg

Arie Cornelis van den Berg was a man who left his home in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on 11 December 1967 to make a phone call but never returned. Usually dressed in costume. Very well groomed. Dark, wavy hair. Blue right eye. Brown left eye. Netherlands Police

int-missing.fandom.com

 

[John/Jane Doe]

To me he seems foreign, as well as higher class. Likely travelling from/through Canada. If so, he resembles this man who went missing from Europe a couple years before .

Arie van den Berg

Arie Cornelis van den Berg was a man who left his home in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on 11 December 1967 to make a phone call but never returned. Usually dressed in costume. Very well groomed. Dark, wavy hair. Blue right eye. Brown left eye. Netherlands Police

int-missing.fandom.com

View attachment 474487

Arie Cornelis van den Berg

At the age of 46, Arie left his home address on 11 December 1967. Nothing has been heard from him since.

www.politie.nl

 

[madamx]

To me he seems foreign, as well as higher class. Likely travelling from/through Canada. If so, he resembles this man who went missing from Europe a couple years before .

Arie van den Berg

Arie Cornelis van den Berg was a man who left his home in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on 11 December 1967 to make a phone call but never returned. Usually dressed in costume. Very well groomed. Dark, wavy hair. Blue right eye. Brown left eye. Netherlands Police

int-missing.fandom.com

View attachment 474487

I can see the resemblance!

 

[carbuff]

I think Mr. van den Berg is definitely worth submitting.

 

[Nate_Bro]

I think Mr. van den Berg is definitely worth submitting.

I submitted it a while back, and off into the void it went. :/

 

[carbuff]

I submitted it a while back, and off into the void it went. :/

Hopefully we'll hear something some day

 

[victoriarobinson642]

I submitted it a while back, and off into the void it went. :/

Mine did as well, as far as I'm aware.

 

[Betty P]

Mine did as well, as far as I'm aware.

Would there have been some record of a person missing from the Netherlands traveling to Canada or the U.S.?

 

[Nate_Bro]

Any updates ? I did some research regarding the watch and the serial number etc. AI thinks that the watch was likely sold in Europe, UK or NZ and said it was unlikely to have been sold in North America. (although seeing the back would be a telltale, as apparently due to tariffs, the American ones were manufactured in US and were marked as such. )

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Any updates ? I did some research regarding the watch and the serial number etc. AI thinks that the watch was likely sold in Europe, UK or NZ and said it was unlikely to have been sold in North America. (although seeing the back would be a telltale, as apparently due to tariffs, the American ones were manufactured in US and were marked as such. )

Do you have a source for Omega watches having been produced in the US in the past, and when this was? The available information indicates that the watch was bought in Portugal.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Interesting that the ruby was paste but the watch was genuine.

Coming back to this, it would be interesting to know whether the "ruby" was red glass, another red stone such as garnet or spinel or a genuine synthetic ruby. From what I have found out since my earlier post, synthetic ruby was very much a specialist thing of the Soviet jewellery industry. The USSR produced no gemstone jewellery for the ordinary market but mass-manufactured ruby for jewellery in large quantities because of the very positive political and cultural associations of redness in the Soviet Union.

If the metal in the ring was gold (or silver), it would have a Soviet hallmark.

If the ring was gold and had an actual synthetic ruby, it suggest our man may have had some connection with the USSR or the old Soviet block.

If, as has been previously speculated, the Omega Sea Master watch was acquired in Portugal, it might support the idea of his having previously been in the merchant marine.

 

[PatLaurel]

Glad to see some "action" here! No so glad to see our John Doe has zero exclusions, when there are two good possible matches.

On another note, since I came across this case that this John Doe reminds me of my maternal grandfather and one of his siblings (B&W sketch). The most recent sketch reminds me of someone I recall seeing in family photos when I was a child. I often wonder if he his a distant relative. For this reason, I contacted the NYSP ViCAP and asked how to have my DNA tested against the JD. The email was forwarded to the investigator handling the case and... 8 months have passed and I haven't heard from them.

MOO JMO

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Do you have a source for Omega watches having been produced in the US in the past, and when this was? The available information indicates that the watch was bought in Portugal.

Coming back to this, luxury watches manufactured in Switzerland have the words "Swiss made" in tiny lettering at the very bottom of the dial, one word either side of the numeral for 6. See here for a 1960s example of an Omega Sea Master watch:

https://www.propertyroom.com/l/mens-14kt-gold-plated-1960s-vintage-seamaster-omega-watch/11980477

The point about Omega and other similar luxury watches is that part of their prestige lies precisely in their having been made in Switzerland. I therefore find it hard to believe that any would have been made in the US just to evade tariffs - even if the necessary watch-making skills were available there.

However, if you know otherwise please do clarify the situation.

 

[PatLaurel]

Any updates ? I did some research regarding the watch and the serial number etc. AI thinks that the watch was likely sold in Europe, UK or NZ and said it was unlikely to have been sold in North America. (although seeing the back would be a telltale, as apparently due to tariffs, the American ones were manufactured in US and were marked as such. )

The serial number was available somewhere... IIRC the watch was bought by a jewelry store in Oporto, Portugal.

MOO

 

[Warwick1991]

The serial number was available somewhere... IIRC the watch was bought by a jewelry store in Oporto, Portugal.

MOO

The serial number is usually on the bezel, and if not, can be found by opening the back. I think an earlier post on this thread has the s/n.

I own an Omega Seamaster of a newer generation, and have Omega catalogs and manuals. To the best of my knowledge, they have always been made in Switzerland. The parent company of Omega has always prided itself on complete control of the supply chain and parts manufacturing.

Omega serial numbers can be traced, and that's why they know the watch was sold in Portugal.