OH OH- Boardman, WhtMale, 18-50, UP8548, hit by car, cross tattoo. August 1982.

[cheemsg]

Morgue photo warning- not graphic at all
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Biological Sex: Male
Race / Ethnicity: White / Caucasian
Estimated Age Group: Adult
Estimated Age Range (Years): 18-50
Estimated Year of Death: 1982
Estimated PMI: 24 Hours
Height: 5' 11"(71 inches) , Estimated
Weight: 140 lbs, Estimated

Circumstances​

Type: Unidentified Deceased
Date Body Found: August 12, 1982
NamUs Case Created: March 1, 2011

Location Found Map​

Location: Boardman, Ohio
County: Mahoning County
Circumstances of Recovery: Walking west bound on Western Reserve Road, he was hit by a car travelling in the same direction at 11:50 PM on 8/12/82.

---

Details of Recovery​

Inventory of Remains: All parts recovered
Condition of Remains: Recognizable face

Physical Description​

Hair Color: Brown
Facial Hair Description: full beard and mustache
Eye Color: Hazel

---

Distinctive Physical Features​

Item
Description
Tattoo
Cross shape tattoo of right posterior forearm

Clothing and Accessories​

Item
Description
Clothing
Gray long sleeve sweater shirt
On the Body

Clothing
Green corduroy pants
On the Body

Clothing
Green socks

 

[Nate_Bro]

I was trying to find out his dentals but according to this article most all of the files were purged.

Cold case: Local investigators trying to identify man killed in 1982

An investigator with the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office is trying to determine the identity of a man who was killed in a traffic accident in 1982.

www.wkbn.com

There are a few John Does that would make good comparisons, but not if there is nothing to compare it with. Cant even use the photo to compare. :/

 

[carbuff]

From last month: a woman in Texas thinks he might be her missing uncle.

A missing man from Texas looks strikingly like their John Doe.

“Literally looks like the exact same person. So it kind there was no doubt in my mind when I saw it. I knew immediately that’s him,” said Melanie Porter of Texas. Her uncle, Gary Wayne Dover, was last seen August 1981--1,200 miles away in Denton, Texas.

That’s one year before this John Doe was found dead in northeast Ohio.

Porter is Gary’s only living close relative.

Could Western Reserve John Doe be a missing man from Texas?

The sheriff’s office recently re-opened this cold case and got a surprising lead.

www.cleveland19.com

Gary Wayne Dover's Charley: Gary Wayne Dover – The Charley Project
Doenetwork: 1224DMTX - Gary Wayne Dover
NAMUS: The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

 

[Nate_Bro]

From last month: a woman in Texas thinks he might be her missing uncle.

A missing man from Texas looks strikingly like their John Doe.

“Literally looks like the exact same person. So it kind there was no doubt in my mind when I saw it. I knew immediately that’s him,” said Melanie Porter of Texas. Her uncle, Gary Wayne Dover, was last seen August 1981--1,200 miles away in Denton, Texas.

That’s one year before this John Doe was found dead in northeast Ohio.

Porter is Gary’s only living close relative.

Could Western Reserve John Doe be a missing man from Texas?

The sheriff’s office recently re-opened this cold case and got a surprising lead.

www.cleveland19.com

Gary Wayne Dover's Charley: Gary Wayne Dover – The Charley Project
Doenetwork: 1224DMTX - Gary Wayne Dover
NAMUS: The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Oh wow looks just like him. I wonder how they will go about making the comparison.

 

[carbuff]

DNA. They exhumed John Doe. The first sample wasn't very good but the article says they're going to try again. From the article:

But the DNA samples tested by Ohio BCI were water-logged.

He had been buried in a pine box instead of a coffin.

“If we can go ahead and find some DNA that’s not too degraded, we should be closing this case very shortly it we hope,” Chief Deputy Allen said.

 

[Susikatze]

DNA. They exhumed John Doe. The first sample wasn't very good but the article says they're going to try again. From the article:

But the DNA samples tested by Ohio BCI were water-logged.

He had been buried in a pine box instead of a coffin.

“If we can go ahead and find some DNA that’s not too degraded, we should be closing this case very shortly it we hope,” Chief Deputy Allen said.

Case for @othram

 

[ProductiveOne]

From last month: a woman in Texas thinks he might be her missing uncle.

A missing man from Texas looks strikingly like their John Doe.

“Literally looks like the exact same person. So it kind there was no doubt in my mind when I saw it. I knew immediately that’s him,” said Melanie Porter of Texas. Her uncle, Gary Wayne Dover, was last seen August 1981--1,200 miles away in Denton, Texas.

That’s one year before this John Doe was found dead in northeast Ohio.

Porter is Gary’s only living close relative.

Could Western Reserve John Doe be a missing man from Texas?

The sheriff’s office recently re-opened this cold case and got a surprising lead.

www.cleveland19.com

Gary Wayne Dover's Charley: Gary Wayne Dover – The Charley Project
Doenetwork: 1224DMTX - Gary Wayne Dover
NAMUS: The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Very exciting! I'm just now learning of these developments.

They used my submission photos in the news video (after applying AI enhancements). I'm so happy. TX - TX - Gary Wayne Dover, 31, Denton, 29 Aug 1981

The family will hopefully reach a conclusion soon.

 

[ProductiveOne]

DNA confirms John Doe was not missing man from Texas

We take you inside the next step for investigators working on this case.

www.cleveland19.com

May 31 2024
It’s another dead end for detectives trying to solve a John Doe case out of Mahoning County.

DNA results have now led them back to square one in a cold case that’s more than 40 years old.

…

They’ll be uploading his DNA sample to several genealogy websites to see if they can find a match through his family.

Meanwhile, Gary Wayne Dover’s case remains unsolved.

 

[victoriarobinson642]

I can't say I'm too surprised it's not him, based on the distance. But I'm glad they're doing DNA on John Doe's case regardless.

 

[Nate_Bro]

I can't say I'm too surprised it's not him, based on the distance. But I'm glad they're doing DNA on John Doe's case regardless.

I'm not saying this has happened in this case. But I do sometimes wonder how many cases go unsolved due to things like adoption, swapped at birth, illegitimate children etc.

 

[ProductiveOne]

I'm not saying this has happened in this case. But I do sometimes wonder how many cases go unsolved due to things like adoption, swapped at birth, illegitimate children etc.

It's funny you mention that because I had emailed the Sheriff yesterday, and stated (grasping at straws) that concern as well because this seems to have happened with a NamUs case before:

TN - TN - Robert Lewis Sands, 30's, Friendship, early 1960's

 

[MarziPanda]

Now a DNA Doe Project case: Western Reserve Rd John Doe 1982 - DNA Doe Project

 

[imstilla.grandma]

His DNA is undergoing testing at a lab right now, according to DNA Doe Project, who’s working on the case.

The next step will be building a family tree to find his name.

Meanwhile, we learned investigators in northeast Ohio have looked into Toledo Jane Doe to see if there’s a connection to any missing persons cases here

Unidentified: Two cold cases from northern Ohio moving forward with DNA and ancestry

19 Investigates found these unidentified cases could be a step closer to getting their names back thanks to volunteers and DNA technology.

www.cleveland19.com

 

[rob525]

Wow! I lived in that area in 1982. In fact, I my memory serves me correctly I went to Glennwood Jr. High the following year. I would have been 12 years old at the time and would ride my Moped to Boardman down that road. Oddly, I have no memory of this occurrence. I guess news travelled slower and was easier to filter to children in those days (I also do not remember hearing about the recently solved cold case in Boardman.)

That being said, it seems like a strange place and time for someone just passing through. Heading west on that road at that time would pretty much just lead to farmland. Being August 12th would have been about two weeks before the Canfield Fair which is the only significant event that one might head towards. I just can't think of a reason why anyone not from the area would be out at that time of night.
The road he was on borders Boardman which is "dry" and had thought that he may have been walking back from a bar in the adjacent town which was not and would have been a long but doable walk. If my memory is accurate. However, this would not explain why he is still unidentified. I also wonder if he might have been headed for the rt. 78 overpass. Perhaps he hoped to climb the embankment up onto the highway and thumb a ride to further destinations?