Summary
In July 1989, partial skeletal remains were discovered behind a warehouse near railroad tracks at First and McGee Streets in Kansas City, Missouri. The remains were covered by a 3’x4’ sheet of tin. At the time of discovery, the victim was wearing multiple layers of clothing, including a striped nylon shirt, a red nylon shirt, a “Doobie Brothers” tee shirt, socks, a tan jacket, boxer shorts, and remnants of denim jeans. The unknown male was believed to be 29 to 49 years of age with a height between 5’5” to 5’7”. No other identifying characteristics for the man were discovered and the man's ancestry is undetermined.
In 2009, the case was entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as #UP4999. For over three decades, law enforcement have diligently pursued various leads about the man's identity. Despite their tireless efforts to identify the unknown man, his identity remains a mystery.
In 2023, the Jackson County Medical Examiner’s Office partnered with Othram to determine if advanced forensic DNA testing could help identify the unknown man or a close relative. Anyone with information that could aid in this investigation is encouraged to contact the Kansas City Police Department at 816-581-0700 and reference case number 89092841 or the Jackson County Medical Examiner's Office at 816-881-6600 and reference case number 89-ME-221.
A DNASolves crowdfund has been created to raise funds for the remaining 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.