Identified! TX - Galveston, beach near Kahala Dr, BlkMale 16-35, UP69355, Under Armor slides on forearms, May'20 - Calvin Mbwambo

[iulia]

Calvin Mbwambo's NamUs page has also been removed today. I think this may be him..

 

[Hochman]

Looking forwards to his identification announcement, i've been tracking this case for a while.

 

[othram]

The NamUs page for this Doe is down.

@othram do you have any news?

Ask and you shall receive:

Galveston County John Doe (2020) is now Identified

Galveston Medical Examiner's Office Partners with Othram to Identify 2020 John Doe Found on the Beach

dnasolves.com

 

[Melt71]

Wonderful work @othram It must be terrifying for a family to lose touch with their child who is halfway around the world in another country and culture. I hope his family finds some peace with his identification.

 

[DS2021]

Calvin Eliwangu Mbwambo is originally from Tanzania and was attending school in Houston. His family has not been able to reach him since May 2020. I think this is a strong possible match...

Good find! Its him!

 

[Hochman]

Ask and you shall receive:

Galveston County John Doe (2020) is now Identified

Galveston Medical Examiner's Office Partners with Othram to Identify 2020 John Doe Found on the Beach

dnasolves.com

Comparison

 

[Caring1]

If he was an exchange student, he may have been living with a local family and attending University. No one reported him missing? Surely he was connected with someone who noticed his absence. Extremely sad for his family. Thank you Othram for caring about this young man and bringing him home to his family.

 

[DS2021]

No one reported him missing?

He was definitely reported missing. He was in NamUs too!

Great work as always @othram !!!

 

[wary]

He was definitely reported missing. He was in NamUs too!

Great work as always @othram !!!

Reported missing, in Namus, and a discussion in this thread about him, a few months ago.

 

[summergirl1]

It's interesting how he was reported missing, but the dots weren't connected until much later. That has happened with Does from say the 1980s, before social media and news spread as fast as it does today, before better or widespread DNA technology, etc.. This case certainly shows it still happens though.

 

[othram]

It's interesting how he was reported missing, but the dots weren't connected until much later. That has happened with Does from say the 1980s, before social media and news spread as fast as it does today, before better or widespread DNA technology, etc.. This case certainly shows it still happens though.

He reported missing but two years after the entry of the unidentified persons record in NamUs.

 

[annemc2]

Jeeeez poor kid. He had such an amazing opportunity to study abroad then the unthinkable happened. Who knows what he would have accomplished. Rest easy, Calvin - gone way too soon.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Sincere condolences to his family.

 

[iamshadow21]

Sleep well, Calvin.

 

[branmuffin]

Should the title of this thread be changed to Identified?

 

[Keepsearching1]

He reported missing but two years after the entry of the unidentified persons record in NamUs.

He was reported missing in both NAMUS and on Facebook in April 2021, nearly a 1 year after he was last heard from

 

[EmiliaRT007]

Wow. I heard about this case in 2021. So glad Calvin got his name back! Surprisingly fast considering he’s not from the US. Although since he was an exchange student he probably had a visa so they may have had him in databases.

 

[EmiliaRT007]

Some footage from 2014 of Calvin while alive, aged 17.

 

[Susikatze]

What a talented soccer player. He must have been a good student as well, embarking on the journey of a lifetime, just started studying abroad.
I guess he underestimated the currents in the sea

 

[EmiliaRT007]

What a talented soccer player. He must have been a good student as well, embarking on the journey of a lifetime, just started studying abroad.
I guess he underestimated the currents in the sea

I’m sure he was. He strikes me as the kind of person who really cared about living his best life and following his dreams. I’m sure he started playing soccer at a young age and had dreams of playing internationally. He probably wanted to take his skills with him all the way to the other side of the world only to end up drowned. I’m sure he had plans to be the best version of himself he could be. All this hard work of his probably burned him out, and amidst the COVID pandemic he found himself stuck in the US unable to return back to Tanzania after he completed his exchange. He just wanted to take a little break and enjoy some leisure time. Maybe he decided to go to the beach while no one else was around. “Hey, it can’t hurt to go to the beach, right?” He brought a typical male swimming outfit of swimming trunks and wore some slides. The current could’ve drowned him, he probably found himself drowning so he strapped his slides to his arms, using what he had to keep himself afloat, not knowing that would be his untimely demise. I never knew the guy, but I honestly feel so sorry for him. What a sad and lonely way to die. I hope he is at peace now. Rest easy, Calvin. So young. Just 24 years old. Had his whole life ahead of him. RIP 1996-2020. Thank you @othram for giving Calvin his name back!