NY NY - Slate Hill, WhtMale 55-65, 112UMNY, in swamp, dental work, 75-77 Timex Dynabeat watch, Sep'91

[Caring1]

Identified as Mikolai Celesz who was reported missing by family on 10/1/76. Mikolai was 76 at the time of his disappearance.

November 26, 2025

New York State Police announced Wednesday that human remains found in a swamp in Greenville, Orange County, in 1991 have been identified as a man missing since 1976.

Police say the remains of Mikolai Celesz, who was reported missing by a family member more than 48 years ago, were positively identified after years of interviews and DNA testing. Celesz was 76 at the time of his disappearance.

Remains discovered in Orange County in 1991 identified as man missing since 1976

Police say the remains of Mikolai Celesz, who was reported missing by a family member more than 48 years ago, were positively identified after years of interviews and DNA testing.

spectrumlocalnews.com

 

[summergirl1]

Remains of man who went missing in 1976 finally identified

The remains of a man who went missing downstate nearly 50 years ago have finally been identified.

cbs6albany.com

 

[summergirl1]

Identification of Human Remains Discovered in 1991 in Greenville, NY

On September 14, 1991, the New York State Police, SP Middletown, responded to a report of human bones discovered after a swamp was

troopers.ny.gov

 

[Melt71]

Identification of Human Remains Discovered in 1991 in Greenville, NY

On September 14, 1991, the New York State Police, SP Middletown, responded to a report of human bones discovered after a swamp was

troopers.ny.gov

Fascinating! I wonder what tests they ran on the belongings to be so specific about pinning down a location/city?

........personal property recovered from the victim was submitted to the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Questioned Documents Unit, in Quantico, Virginia. This state-of-the-art analysis generated a critical lead suggesting the victim may have resided in the City of Port Jervis, New York.

Based on this new information, Troop F BCI initiated targeted interviews and additional investigative steps in the City of Port Jervis. During this process, the Port Jervis Police Department located a hard-copy blotter entry dated October 1, 1976, documenting a missing person report for Mikolai Celesz, age 76 at the time of his disappearance. The report indicated he had been reported missing by a family member.

 

[othram]

After 34 years, Upstate NY John Doe (1991) is Identified

New York State Police Leverage Othram's Forensic Genetic Testing Platform to Identify a 1991 John Doe

dnasolves.com

 

[Susikatze]

After reading the following comments on Websleuths, I began to wonder if this man may have been Jewish given his long sleeve fitted shirt, blue trousers, leather belt, and winged tip shoes.



Source: Identified! - PA - White Haven, 'Beth Doe' & Unborn Baby 169UFPA, 16-22, Dec'76 - #1 - Evelyn Colon


Then I went looking at the two reconstruction photos and both reconstructions have head coverings resembling a Breslov Kippah, yet the case profile doesn't mention the head covering. I highly suspect this is a Jewish man from one of the local communities.

What is Jewish about a fitted shirt and a leather belt? Also this is a knit winter hat, not a Breslov kippa at all (those are crocheted and white and very distinctively shaped).

Happy he was Idd. His name sounds Ukrainian.

jmoo

 

[The4TierBridge]

What is Jewish about a fitted shirt and a leather belt? Also this is a knit winter hat, not a Breslov kippa at all (those are crocheted and white and very distinctively shaped).

Happy he was Idd. His name sounds Ukrainian.

jmoo

He was from Belarus. He actually has had a Belarusian-language Wikipedia page since 2011 because he was a somewhat notable author; it was even noted that he moved to the USA and was missing in older revisions (still not in NamUs as an MP though ): Мікола Цэлеш — Вікіпедыя

His identification was also reported in Belarusian media about a month before it was in US media and unofficially being talked about on social media in July.

 

[ProductiveOne]

What is Jewish about a fitted shirt and a leather belt? Also this is a knit winter hat, not a Breslov kippa at all (those are crocheted and white and very distinctively shaped).

Happy he was Idd. His name sounds Ukrainian.

jmoo

You are correct. My sight was fixed after learning of the Jewish communities there. I'm happy his case was solved.