PA PA - Philadelphia, UnkMale UP16971, 20-35, thick black hair, brown sweater, found Schuylkill River, Jun’77

[lightofmine99]

Philadelphia John Doe (1977)
a.k.a "Passyunk Ave. John Doe”
UP16971 (NU)

Clay reconstruction of John Doe, c. unknown.​

Circumstances:
Found in Schuylkill River, N. of Passyunk Ave. (per NamUs).

Spoiler: CASE INFORMATION

Case Numbers:

• NamUs: UP16971
• Doe Network: N/A
• ME/C: 77-3419
• NCMEC: N/A

Overview:

• Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Philadelphia Co.)
• Date Body Found: June 6, 1977.
• NamUs Created: September 2, 2017.
• Tribal Land: NO
• PMI: 6 MO.
  • 1975-1977 (YOD).
• State of Remains: Not recognizable.
  • Decomposing/putrefaction.
  • One or both hands have not recovered.
• Cause of Death: N/A

Physical:

• Sex: Male
• Race/Ethnicity: Unknown
• Age: Adult pre-40.
  • 20-35
• Height: 5'7" (67 in.), est.
• Weight: 102 lbs., est.
• Hair: Black
  • Thick, coarse.
  • Slightly wavy.
• Eye: Unknown

Identifiers:

• Dentals: UNKNOWN
• DNA: UNKNOWN
• Prints: UNKNOWN
• Marks / Features: N/A

Personal Effects:

• Clothing:
  • Brown "crew neck" sweater with orange stripes across shoulders (brand H.J.S, size unknown).
  • “Bluish green” long-sleeved “sport shirt.”
  • Large "Valguard" brand t-shirt.
• Jewelry: NONE
• Add'l Items: NONE

Links:

• NamUs: UP16971 (ARCHIVE)
• Doe Network: N/A

Notes:
As of February 20, 2025 there is ONE public exclusion:

Randall Brosius (MP22270) - Missing from Valley View, Pennsylvania since 1977.

** This case is in the custody of the Philadelphia Medical Examiner's Office. ** ​

 

[Soulmagent]

Samuel Byrd.
https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/software/mp-main.html?id=5851dmct

 

[madamx]

MISSING
Missing Person / NamUs #MP141800Ernest R Deangelis, Male, White / Caucasian
Date of Last ContactDecember 15, 1976
Missing FromIpswich, Massachusetts

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

 

[erlysunsets]

Craig Steven Chiarappa
Missing Person/NamUs #MP40481
Date of Last Contact: April 11, 1976
Missing From: Middlefield, Connecticut | Missing Age: 23 Years

 

[summergirl1]

I couldn't seem to find any old newspaper articles on him. Hmm. One or more of his hands were likely missing due to decomposition, but sometimes hands are removed from homicide victims to hinder identification, too. It doesn't seem like he was murdered, though.

 

[summergirl1]

I wonder if there is DNA on him. It says "Unknown".

 

[CCJD]

From NamUs report printed 1/27/2018:

Fingerprint information is available
Dental information/charting is available and entered
DNA sample is currently unavailable

Skeletal findings: No distinguishing characteristics seen. From osseous structures, estimate age to be greater than 20, but less than 30. Epiphyses are all fused and no degenerative changes seen.

 

[The4TierBridge]

From NamUs report printed 1/27/2018:

Fingerprint information is available
Dental information/charting is available and entered
DNA sample is currently unavailable

Skeletal findings: No distinguishing characteristics seen. From osseous structures, estimate age to be greater than 20, but less than 30. Epiphyses are all fused and no degenerative changes seen.

Where do you find the printed reports? All I've been able to do is put the old links into web.archive.org (and that only works occasionally).

 

[CCJD]

Where do you find the printed reports? All I've been able to do is put the old links into web.archive.org (and that only works occasionally).

Back in 2018 when I was told about NamUs 2.0 and that biometric info would no longer be publicly available, I printed out all of PA's UIDs that were already in NamUs at that time.

 

[summergirl1]

I wonder if DNA is still unavailable. I looked him up on Find a Grave to see where he might have been buried, if he was, and I didn't find anything. I also searched old newspapers more and came up with nothing.