PA PA - Bedford, 'Mr. Bones' WhtMale 30-35, 585UMPA, 30-06 rifle, gold dental wk, camping equip, Oct'58

[Warwick1991]

Although Conner’s DNA should be compared to Mr. Bones, I am inclined to think Conner’s murderer would not have staged the scene as found. The items found with the deceased are not consistent with Conner. However, I do support verifying whether this is Conner or not.

I think the books, clothing, and the firearm wouldn’t have been placed at the scene. It would take time and planning to collect items like this, and I think the perpetrator would be unlikely to leave a nice rifle behind.

I think Mr. Bones is someone else, likely a veteran of WWII or Korea, struggling with finding his way in life and living a nomadic life, probably on a short term basis. The contact lenses are, IMO, a very important clue to his identity. I think the books were his, as well as the rifle. Looking at ads for vintage “Straight Shooter” cases, these were often vinyl or leather with a soft lining, designed to protect a rifle from the weather, so there’s a practical aspect. Bones may have chosen a .30-06 hunting rifle from his familiarity with the caliber from serving in the military - it was used in the Garand rifle in WWII and Korea, and used in the Springfield rifle for WWII training, among other uses. He could even be a second owner of the Remington, purchasing it used at a modest price to fit a student budget. The books may be from his time in college, perhaps graduate school as other posters have mentioned. He may have started using the GI Bill. Perhaps stressors in life caused Bones to withdraw, or perhaps he was actually a recent graduate, on his way to another chapter in life.

I think inconsistent reporting of missing persons, along with a lack of nationwide publicity, is responsible for the lack of identification. Bones’ parents are undoubtedly deceased by now, but perhaps there’s a living sibling or cousin. The contact lenses, relatively rare and expensive, would be a key to identifying where Bones came from. Where in Illinois was the physician who prescribed them? The location of the practice and any remaining knowledge of the patients could identify the area where he once lived. Bones would have chosen a trusted physician, probably in his community, to fit such an expensive and relatively new (at the time) technology. As with other cases, forensic genealogy using DNA would be ideal…

 

[Eddie99]

I'm not sure why people keep claiming contacts were "very rare". From what I have read they were common in the late 40s early 50s.

As far as the books go. There are lots of people drawing all sorts of far out theories. I remember one person speculating that Mr bones probably hung out in beatnik coffee shops in NYC and read poetry.

I think if he was just some guy wandering around, they would have been fodder for kindling. Nothing more, nothing less.

Even if he was dumped, and staged. I think that whomever did this, would have presumed that the authorities would have concluded, pretty much exactly what they concluded. This guy was transient and used the books to aid in lighting fires.

Either way. I don't think those books mean anything to anyone. Probably from a garage sale, or used book store. Who knows.

I've heard of people found dead in tents. Or on trails. But I've never heard of a hiker/transient with clean camping utensils, but no other clothing or sundries kill themselves next to a highway.

I struggle with the idea some big dude would wander around from town to town with contacts, but no contact case. (Suggests if there was a killer and that killer set up the scene, they didn't know he wore contacts.)

Then he is supposed to be just strutting around with a hunting rifle? I realize it was the 50s and guns weren't a problem back then, and people regularly took them to school and work. But hitchhiking and just walking around with one. I don't know.

 

[Magnum P.E.]

Although Conner’s DNA should be compared to Mr. Bones, I am inclined to think Conner’s murderer would not have staged the scene as found. The items found with the deceased are not consistent with Conner. However, I do support verifying whether this is Conner or not.

I think the books, clothing, and the firearm wouldn’t have been placed at the scene. It would take time and planning to collect items like this, and I think the perpetrator would be unlikely to leave a nice rifle behind.

I think Mr. Bones is someone else, likely a veteran of WWII or Korea, struggling with finding his way in life and living a nomadic life, probably on a short term basis. The contact lenses are, IMO, a very important clue to his identity. I think the books were his, as well as the rifle. Looking at ads for vintage “Straight Shooter” cases, these were often vinyl or leather with a soft lining, designed to protect a rifle from the weather, so there’s a practical aspect. Bones may have chosen a .30-06 hunting rifle from his familiarity with the caliber from serving in the military - it was used in the Garand rifle in WWII and Korea, and used in the Springfield rifle for WWII training, among other uses. He could even be a second owner of the Remington, purchasing it used at a modest price to fit a student budget. The books may be from his time in college, perhaps graduate school as other posters have mentioned. He may have started using the GI Bill. Perhaps stressors in life caused Bones to withdraw, or perhaps he was actually a recent graduate, on his way to another chapter in life.

I think inconsistent reporting of missing persons, along with a lack of nationwide publicity, is responsible for the lack of identification. Bones’ parents are undoubtedly deceased by now, but perhaps there’s a living sibling or cousin. The contact lenses, relatively rare and expensive, would be a key to identifying where Bones came from. Where in Illinois was the physician who prescribed them? The location of the practice and any remaining knowledge of the patients could identify the area where he once lived. Bones would have chosen a trusted physician, probably in his community, to fit such an expensive and relatively new (at the time) technology. As with other cases, forensic genealogy using DNA would be ideal…

Warwick, the contact lenses were prescribed by an optometrist in Chicago. How they knew that without knowing who they were prescribed to is a mystery to me.
As for the items found not fitting Conner, if it was a very hastily and imperfectly assembled batch of stuff, and the body dumper had only minutes at the scene (and who would want to hang around longer?) it is about what one could expect. The rifle would have been left because if he was shot at close range and there was no gun around, the conclusion would have to be homicide or at least manslaughter.
I am not wedded to the idea of Mr. Bones being Conner, but of the hundreds of cases I looked at, he was the only one that I could not dismiss. Conner and Conner alone fit the physical description (down to hair color) and the time period. The killer did have enough time to do what I postulate that he did - just. If a helper and not the killer actually dumped the body there was plenty of time.
Bottom line is, I may be right or Mr. B. may be someone completely different, unknown to us. But I started work on this case nearly ten years ago, and am tired of waiting. The technology has now caught up to the case. Only the DNA and forensic genealogy will get it done.

 

[Warwick1991]

I'm not sure why people keep claiming contacts were "very rare". From what I have read they were common in the late 40s early 50s.

As far as the books go. There are lots of people drawing all sorts of far out theories. I remember one person speculating that Mr bones probably hung out in beatnik coffee shops in NYC and read poetry.

I think if he was just some guy wandering around, they would have been fodder for kindling. Nothing more, nothing less.

Even if he was dumped, and staged. I think that whomever did this, would have presumed that the authorities would have concluded, pretty much exactly what they concluded. This guy was transient and used the books to aid in lighting fires.

Either way. I don't think those books mean anything to anyone. Probably from a garage sale, or used book store. Who knows.

I've heard of people found dead in tents. Or on trails. But I've never heard of a hiker/transient with clean camping utensils, but no other clothing or sundries kill themselves next to a highway.

I struggle with the idea some big dude would wander around from town to town with contacts, but no contact case. (Suggests if there was a killer and that killer set up the scene, they didn't know he wore contacts.)

Then he is supposed to be just strutting around with a hunting rifle? I realize it was the 50s and guns weren't a problem back then, and people regularly took them to school and work. But hitchhiking and just walking around with one. I don't know.

A close relative of mine was an optometrist, and from my knowledge of his practice, contact lenses were expensive and relatively rare in the 1940s and 1950s. A plastic corneal lens was invented in 1948, but it was still an unusual and often uncomfortable product until the later invention of permeable lenses in about 1959. Manufacturing and distribution of permeable lenses came later. Popularity really increased in the 1960s - that is when my relative’s practice started selling a lot of contacts. In order to trace the contacts to an Illinois physician or optometrist, the case would have been the primary source of information - that is the traditional, and usually only, source of markings for the dispensing optical practice. I believe that the case was probably found by LE. Those early types of contacts couldn’t be worn for more than a few hours - the case would have been with the unidentified man. A severe infection could result from wearing this kind of contact for an extended period of time. Without the case, the only other method of tracing where the contacts came from might possibly be from the lens manufacturer, if they filled an order with this prescription and sent it to a particular practice. I agree with @Magnum P.E. that it is very strange that the practice had no record of the patient who got the contacts.

As far as traveling with a rifle, there were virtually no gun control laws at the time, and a number of scenarios, including hitchhiking, are possible. A cased rifle probably wouldn’t have been looked at as a threat at the time. Due to the number of items he had, I think Mr. Bones had his own vehicle. Perhaps it was towed or stolen after being observed as abandoned.

Mr. Bones would have collected wood from his campsite surroundings as a practical method of obtaining kindling, as I have done myself. Toting books for this purpose would be cumbersome and impractical.

 

[Warwick1991]

Warwick, the contact lenses were prescribed by an optometrist in Chicago. How they knew that without knowing who they were prescribed to is a mystery to me.
As for the items found not fitting Conner, if it was a very hastily and imperfectly assembled batch of stuff, and the body dumper had only minutes at the scene (and who would want to hang around longer?) it is about what one could expect. The rifle would have been left because if he was shot at close range and there was no gun around, the conclusion would have to be homicide or at least manslaughter.
I am not wedded to the idea of Mr. Bones being Conner, but of the hundreds of cases I looked at, he was the only one that I could not dismiss. Conner and Conner alone fit the physical description (down to hair color) and the time period. The killer did have enough time to do what I postulate that he did - just. If a helper and not the killer actually dumped the body there was plenty of time.
Bottom line is, I may be right or Mr. B. may be someone completely different, unknown to us. But I started work on this case nearly ten years ago, and am tired of waiting. The technology has now caught up to the case. Only the DNA and forensic genealogy will get it done.

I agree that Conner’s DNA should be compared to Mr. Bones…. No argument there.

 

[Magnum P.E.]

I agree that Conner’s DNA should be compared to Mr. Bones…. No argument there.

That may not exactly be able to be done. But if Mr. Bones’s familial DNA is put into GEDmatch and relatives of Chuck Conner turn up, that would do it. And if not, other relatives will turn up. And when his true identity is known, we may all say “Huh? Never heard of him!” We get that all the time, someone we never heard of and who was never reported missing turns out to be the unidentified person. FLEK, the Sumter. County Does, the guy who hanged himself in the motel out west, none of them were on our radar at all.

 

[TrustedTracker5097]

That may not exactly be able to be done. But if Mr. Bones’s familial DNA is put into GEDmatch and relatives of Chuck Conner turn up, that would do it. And if not, other relatives will turn up. And when his true identity is known, we may all say “Huh? Never heard of him!” We get that all the time, someone we never heard of and who was never reported missing turns out to be the unidentified person. FLEK, the Sumter. County Does, the guy who hanged himself in the motel out west, none of them were on our radar at all.

That’s what I suspect. There’s a good chance this guy was never reported missing. Lots of people leave home to start new lives and people simply think they cut all ties when they hear no word from them. I could be mistaken, but back during this time, it’s my understanding that police were often very reluctant to file missing person reports and would just tell people that their loved ones had run away. Either way, a familial DNA test should give us a conclusive answer, or at least get us closer to one.

 

[Eddie99]

There are certainly a number of reasons people aren't reported missing. I would suggest that 2 people witnessing Connor get shot in the head, is a pretty good reason not to file a missing person's report.

To me, this just adds to the list of reasons why it could be Connor.

1. Not reported missing (they knew he was dead)
2. The physical size of Connor vs. Mr bones. Both very large (I think 95th percentile for that time)
3. Connor shot in head. Bones shot in head
4. Decomposition of Mr bones, aligns with Connor murder.
5. The murder was seen, at the exact 1/2 way point between Lima, and Bedford. (An experienced criminal, would have preferred to place evidence in different states. Which he was.)
6. If the killer didn't realize the victim wore contacts. That goes a long way to explain why there was no contact case, or solutions found with the body. I hasten to add, if this guy WAS some beatnik, disturbed veteran wandering the countryside with biker type clothing, reading 30 year old physics textbooks, and poetry..... how did he clean his contacts?

 

[Warwick1991]

That’s what I suspect. There’s a good chance this guy was never reported missing. Lots of people leave home to start new lives and people simply think they cut all ties when they hear no word from them. I could be mistaken, but back during this time, it’s my understanding that police were often very reluctant to file missing person reports and would just tell people that their loved ones had run away. Either way, a familial DNA test should give us a conclusive answer, or at least get us closer to one.

I think Mr. Bones is a veteran whose disappearance was not reported or simply filed away in some forgotten file cabinet. I think he had strong ties to Chicago and New York City. When familial DNA is tested, we may have some answers.

The contact lenses apparently come from Chicago. I seems unlikely that Conner would make a special trip to Chicago from Lima to purchase contact lenses, which were could be very uncomfortable. expensive, and had a limited number of users. According some of the earlier posts in this thread, the case was found. Conner was a factory foreman, a rather atypical user of contact lenses. Early contact lens users were often in the film industry, or some other occupation where cosmetic appearance was very important. Furthermore, depending on what was being made in the factory, Conner would have needed safety glasses instead of a high risk product like a contact lens. I think that Mr. Bones is probably from the Chicago area.

I think the items found with Mr. Bones are likely to be his, and not part of a staging scheme. The books, the camping equipment and the key all seem to originate from the New York City area - an unlikely assemblage for Forsythe to plant. The earlier posts on this thread have a lot of material on the belongings that were found, including the contacts...

 

[Startover]

I dont know if this world help--obviously the Key was important to Mr Bones..can anyone think of a five tumbler lock opened by a brass key?

 

[Ann99]

I dont know if this world help--obviously the Key was important to Mr Bones..can anyone think of a five tumbler lock opened by a brass key?

I agree with you that the key was and is important.
I hold onto the thought that it was a hotel key.
Or a pad lock key for locking the small storage compartment on a motorcycle.
But I don't know anything about keys or the various types and uses, or locks.
The Key could be the Key!

 

[Magnum P.E.]

I agree with you that the key was and is important.
I hold onto the thought that it was a hotel key.
Or a pad lock key for locking the small storage compartment on a motorcycle.
But I don't know anything about keys or the various types and uses, or locks.
The Key could be the Key!

I have an idea! Call the contact for Mr. B., and request to make a hundred copies of the key. Then we each take one, fan out, and start trying them in locks. One can do New York City, one can do Chicago, and I will take Lima.....NOT! Just a bit of sleuthing sarcasm there.
We did not initially know exactly which Avenue A it was, but intriguingly there IS an Avenue A in the Pittsburgh area. I found Active Locksmiths at 195 Avenue A in a NYC business directory for the late 40s or early 50s. I contacted the manager of the building hoping against hope that there were some moldy records in the basement there, but he knew nothing of the locksmith that had been there decades before, and there would have been nothing to tie a name to a key anyway. I don’t remember what business is there now, it has been years.
Interesting that after I found that tidbit and posted it here, the association with the Avenue A in NYC began to be officially cited. I think that LE sometimes reads Websleuths.

So who carries a single key around in their pocket anyway?

The cooking kit (unused) was a Kiffe Kook-it. Kiffe as I recall had only one store, in NYC, but sold by mail order everywhere. Those kits were sold under many brand names, owned (and hated) by Boy Scouts everywhere, they had a folding handle held straight by a screw and wingnut, and if you actually tried to use it it would spill your hot food on your pants often as not. No serious camper uses one.

 

[TrustedTracker5097]

I have an idea! Call the contact for Mr. B., and request to make a hundred copies of the key. Then we each take one, fan out, and start trying them in locks. One can do New York City, one can do Chicago, and I will take Lima.....NOT! Just a bit of sleuthing sarcasm there.
We did not initially know exactly which Avenue A it was, but intriguingly there IS an Avenue A in the Pittsburgh area. I found Active Locksmiths at 195 Avenue A in a NYC business directory for the late 40s or early 50s. I contacted the manager of the building hoping against hope that there were some moldy records in the basement there, but he knew nothing of the locksmith that had been there decades before, and there would have been nothing to tie a name to a key anyway. I don’t remember what business is there now, it has been years.
Interesting that after I found that tidbit and posted it here, the association with the Avenue A in NYC began to be officially cited. I think that LE sometimes reads Websleuths.

So who carries a single key around in their pocket anyway?

For a second I thought you were being serious about that 100 keys idea. As for questioning who would only carry one key with them, that does raise an issue with any theory involving him driving himself to the scene: where was his car key? I suppose it could have been lost somewhere when his remains were scattered by animals. If someone gets the permission to do so, maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to search the area with a metal detector. If anybody finds a rusted car key, an old old contact lens case, or anything else dating from that period, maybe we’ll have a new lead to work with. Regardless, just one key does suggest either a hitchhiker or a staged crime scene with planted objects.

 

[Ann99]

We would need more than 100 keys.*
I was going to say I would do Pittsburgh, as I lived there long ago,
so I looked on a map.
195 Avenue A, Pittsburgh, PA IS ONE BLOCK FROM RT. 30.
Rt 30 leads DIRECTLY to Bedford, Pa.
*sleuthing sarcasm*
But true. All true.

 

[Ann99]

Magnum, Trusted Tracker, or if anyone knows...
What or who had the original jurisdiction on the Mr. Bones location and case.
- meaning who would have initially handled the unidentified body found.back in1958.
It's my impression the case has changed jurisdictions over time.
I could be wrong.
Was it initially PA State Police?
I just don't know of the PA State police handling missing or unidentified persons.
Was it Bedford Police unit initially?
Who has the case, the evidence, the body now?
For some reason, Pa State Police Hollidaysburg comes to mind.
tia

 

[TrustedTracker5097]

Magnum, Trusted Tracker, or if anyone knows...
What or who had the original jurisdiction on the Mr. Bones location and case.
- meaning who would have initially handled the unidentified body found.back in1958.
It's my impression the case has changed jurisdictions over time.
I could be wrong.
Was it initially PA State Police?
I just don't know of the PA State police handling missing or unidentified persons.
Was it Bedford Police unit initially?
Who has the case, the evidence, the body now?
For some reason, Pa State Police Hollidaysburg comes to mind.
tia

I reference an earlier post to answer your question. Bear in mind news sources don’t always agree with one another on certain details, and it is possible that journalists get some details incorrect.

An article referenced by CCJD mentions the case being investigated by “State Police of the Bedford sub-station”.

 

[CCJD]

Ann99 said: ↑
Magnum, Trusted Tracker, or if anyone knows...
What or who had the original jurisdiction on the Mr. Bones location and case.
- meaning who would have initially handled the unidentified body found.back in1958.
It's my impression the case has changed jurisdictions over time.
I could be wrong.
Was it initially PA State Police?
I just don't know of the PA State police handling missing or unidentified persons.
Was it Bedford Police unit initially?
Who has the case, the evidence, the body now?
For some reason, Pa State Police Hollidaysburg comes to mind.
tia


AFAIK, PSP Bedford Station were initial investigators. Article from Bedford County Press 10/17/58, pertinent part attached.
31 Dec 1969, - at Newspapers.com
subscription needed - date on link is wrong

In the early days of NamUs, there was a trooper from the Hollidaysburg Station who was representing PA cases: validating & entering into NamUs. (I got to meet him at NamUs Academy in MD). His name and phone number were listed as the PSP contact on NamUs. He's retired now, moved onto other things. The contact info on Mr Bones NamUs file now lists both Bedford and Hollidaysburg.

Poor Mr Bones. Last I heard he and his possessions are at the "new jail in Bedford Twp."
(It was erroneously reported years and years ago that he had been interred at the old County Home cemetery but Trooper Kovel (also now retired from PSP) told me that the story wasn't true.
Unsolved Bedford homicide lingers five decades

Edited to fix wrong post quote.

 

[Ann99]

Thanks!
Yep, Poor Mr. Bones.
If they can't actively work on solving this, they should bury the guy.
Whomever "THEY" are.

 

[TrustedTracker5097]

Thanks!
Yep, Poor Mr. Bones.
If they can't actively work on solving this, they should bury the guy.
Whomever "THEY" are.

No. Burial means that if anyone needed additional DNA from him, an exhumation would need to be authorized. That’s another obstacle to overcome to getting this thing solved. I’m going to call the case officer on Monday, and we’ll all hopefully get the ball rolling on this thing.

 

[Magnum P.E.]

We would need more than 100 keys.*
I was going to say I would do Pittsburgh, as I lived there long ago,
so I looked on a map.
195 Avenue A, Pittsburgh, PA IS ONE BLOCK FROM RT. 30.
Rt 30 leads DIRECTLY to Bedford, Pa.
*sleuthing sarcasm*
But true. All true.

Years back when I looked into 195 Avenue A in Pittsburgh, I thought I had something, it being near a direct rout to Bedford. But it is a private residence and there was never a locksmith there, it is just a coincidence.

PLEASE PLEASE don’t anyone bug whoever lives there now!