WI WI - Eau Claire, WhtMal 25-35, UP4744, in shipping crate from Italy, w/dead Romanian citizen, Sep'01

[Romulus]

NamUs UP Case 4744

https://identifyus.org/cases/4744

Unidentified White male
* Found September 6, 2001 in Eau Claire County, WI
* Estimated Year of Death: 2001

Vital Statistics
* Estimated age: 25-35 years old
* Approximate Height: 65' estimated
* Distinguishing Characteristics: dark brown to black measuring 6 cm in length; dark brown pubic hair;
* Dentals: Dental information / charting is available and entered



* Clothing/Jewelry: Dark pants, dark long sleeve button down shirt; Leather tie up shoes; Diana Brand Cigarettes.

* DNA: Sample not available


Case History: Body found at Menard's distribution center in Eau Claire, WI. The body was in a packing/shipping crate that contained tile and originated from Livorno Italy. Another body was present in the crate and was presumptively identified as a Romanian citizen. Present in the crate were clothing items, a plastic bag containing feces, a hand drill which appeared to be used to create ventilation holes in the crate.​

 

[squish]

https://identifyus.org/cases/4744

The other body found in the crate belonged to a Romanian; they could have been smuggling themselves into the U.S. via Italy.

Maybe they couldn't escape from the crate, or maybe it was in transit much longer than they expected [emoji53]

 

[creepedout]

Found this case in Interpol:

http://www.interpol.int/notice/search/missing/2001-48374

The age is within the range, and the listed height, 1.76 meters, is equivalent to about 69 inches, which is not far off. Unfortunately, the photo is of very low quality.

 

[Nikon]

An Italian and an Romanian? Sounds like the opening of a joke.

From the sketch, this guy is unmistakably Italian.

Diana cigarettes are Italian, also.

Did they consult anybody in Italy about this?

 

[Romulus]

I'm italian; this case in unknown in Italy; i found this casually in John Doe database; also in the italian trasmission Chi l'ha visto? no one has even talked about maybe because UID was found in US territory;also I confirm that the cigarette brand is Italian, but the man could be one of many illegal immigrants who enter in Italy where there is no effective control there in the USA.

 

[SurfieTX]

The ceramic tile shipment left the port city of Livorno, Italy, on Aug. 10, and was transported through three Canadian cities and on to Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee and Minneapolis before arriving at Menards on Thursday, Sands said.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/862747/2-stowaways-bodies-found-in-ship-container.html?pg=all

 

[Romulus]

Doe Network

http://doenetwork.org/cases/1656umwi.html

 

[buffetoflies]

if the box shipped from italy on August 10th, and was opened on September 1st in WI, how can the doe networks postmortem estimate be 3 months? and how can the remains be skeletal by then? The crate had to have had a smell and possibly be about 200 lbs heavier than it should have been. Also it would seem sort of organized by someone else because wouldn't the crate be packed tightly with merchandise? Two bodies would take up quite a bit of space, plus one of them had enough space to move around and use the bag...

If they know who the Romanian is, have they talked to the people he knew in Italy or Romania? This seems (seemed to be a decade and a half ago) very solvable.

 

[Tssiemer]

And why is there not a DNA sample??!!


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[Lostindetroit]

oh man, can you imagine being trapped, encased with other cargo stuck in a box with someone else and a bag of excrement. these gentlemen really wanted to get to the states. To go to that extreme my assumption would be possible criminals, who would not be allowed in the states by other means? Or maybe poor, with no means of other arrangements to travel? Why do this? Possibly check wanted criminals of that year in Italy maybe? Where do you start in an international case of this nature? I know this happens like a kid climbing in a cargo plane across the U.S but crossing the ocean and for a month. My minds kinda blown.

 

[dotr]

Coincidentally, in 1998, this young man was found in Montreal, also in a shipping crate which arrived from Italy too.
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...from-Italy-Nov-98-PM*&p=13545645#post13545645

 

[carbuff]

if the box shipped from italy on August 10th, and was opened on September 1st in WI, how can the doe networks postmortem estimate be 3 months? and how can the remains be skeletal by then? The crate had to have had a smell and possibly be about 200 lbs heavier than it should have been. Also it would seem sort of organized by someone else because wouldn't the crate be packed tightly with merchandise? Two bodies would take up quite a bit of space, plus one of them had enough space to move around and use the bag...

If they know who the Romanian is, have they talked to the people he knew in Italy or Romania? This seems (seemed to be a decade and a half ago) very solvable.

The crate is described as a 20-foot steel crate, which when sealed is probably quite airtight and kept the smells of decay from spreading. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/862747/2-stowaways-bodies-found-in-ship-container.html?pg=all

It's probably a crate something like this: http://seabox.com/products/list/20-foot-dry-freight-containers

That kind of crate is big enough and heavy enough that the weight of a couple of people probably wouldn't be noticed. But maybe someone in the shipping area was in collusion and left the crate partly or completely empty, so there was room for them and the weight discrepancy wouldn't be noticed. Or maybe they removed some of the tiles before hiding inside.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Case History: Body found at Menard's distribution center in Eau Claire, WI. The body was in a packing/shipping crate that contained tile and originated from Livorno Italy. Another body was present in the crate and was presumptively identified as a Romanian citizen. Present in the crate were clothing items, a plastic bag containing feces, a hand drill which appeared to be used to create ventilation holes in the crate.
​

I wonder:

1. Who the manufacturer of the tiles was; and
2. Whether the tiles would have been loaded into the container and the container sealed at the factory or at the port.

I seem to recall that a very high proportion of Italian tiles of all descriptions were made in and around one particular city - at least that was the case up to and during the 1980s, which had developed into a centre of excellence for tile manufacture.

It may not help at all to identify the manufacturer, but on the other hand it may help to narrow the search down somewhat. Maybe a former employee would remember another employee going missing around that time and assuming he had gone to another job.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

That kind of crate is big enough and heavy enough that the weight of a couple of people probably wouldn't be noticed.

Quite. A container that size filled with ceramic tiles would have weighed tonnes. A few hundred kg either way would have been neither here nor there.

 

[carbuff]

Updated link: Unidentified Person Case

 

[jessica-]

Wait... Wasn't their a man in Montreal that was found in a shipping container from Italy.

Man was found with Italian clothing and money.

 

[carbuff]

Wait... Wasn't their a man in Montreal that was found in a shipping container from Italy.

Man was found with Italian clothing and money.

Yeah. Thread here: CANADA - M,20-30,wh,Montreal, in shipping container from Italy,Nov 98, PM*

There's quite a bit of information about smuggling from Italy in that thread.

 

[jessica-]

Yeah. Thread here: CANADA - M,20-30,wh,Montreal, in shipping container from Italy,Nov 98, PM*

There's quite a bit of information about smuggling from Italy in that thread.

Wonder if they're somehow connected

 

[carbuff]

Wonder if they're somehow connected

In the sense that they were on the same ship at different times, and probably went through the same smuggler in Italy.

 

[carbuff]

This article, mentioned in the related thread of the three men found deceased in Montreal, indicates authorities think both men were Romanian. Which makes sense.

Authorities trying to crack mystery around two Romanian men found decomposed in shipping container in Eau Claire