Summary
In June 1987, police officers were dispatched to an apartment at 1350 Columbine Street in Denver, Colorado for a welfare check. Upon arrival, officers discovered the body of an unresponsive Black man. The unidentified man, possibly known as "Kinky," was estimated to be 6'0" in height and 183 pounds in weight. While his exact age is unknown, it is estimated that he was between 24 and 40 years old at the time of death. The man was found wearing a red, yellow, green, and black beaded necklace. Aside from a tattoo including the word "GEMINI" and a wine glass on the lower right leg, no other identifiable characteristics were noted. Investigators believe the unidentified man could have originally come from Miami, Florida or perhaps Jamaica.
In May 2010, the case was entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP7166. Despite the efforts of law enforcement, the man’s identity remains a mystery and with few leads for investigators to pursue, the case has gone cold.
In 2023, the Denver Office of the Medical Examiner partnered with Othram to leverage advanced forensic DNA testing to help establish the man's identity. Anyone with information that could aid in this investigation is encouraged to contact the Denver Office of the Medical Examiner and reference agency case 1987-95629 or NamUs ID #UP7166.
A DNASolves crowdfund has been established to cover the casework costs. Anyone can contribute here.
Michael Vogen
Director of Case Management
Michael works with law enforcement agencies throughout the United States and Canada on “unsolvable“ cases that can benefit from advanced DNA testing methods. He helps these agencies use cutting edge DNA sequencing and new forensic techniques to develop investigative leads for their cases.