Saginaw Police Department and Othram Team to Identify Michigan Teen Found in 1988

Summary

In October 1988, authorities responded to the call of an unidentified body in Saginaw, Michigan. When they arrived at the scene, they found the body of a young African American man who had died only hours prior.

The young man had brown eyes and black hair, stood 5’7’’ tall and weighed 165 pounds. He sported a slightly raised mohawk with a fade on the sides and had a very light mustache. At the time of his death, the victim was wearing a green-yellow t-shirt, black jeans, white Nike Air tennis shoes, and two gold chains. He had some birthmarks on his abdomen and several keloid scars on both knees and on his right shoulder.

In an effort to aid the young man’s identification, multiple forensic depictions were created over the years by forensic artists from both Michigan State Police and National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). The unidentified male matched no missing persons cases in the area at the time of his death. Investigations by the Saginaw Police Department revealed that the young man was connected to Detroit but could possibly have been from out of state. Despite their efforts to share his description and unearth his identity, no one came forward to claim the young man.

The Saginaw Police Department has partnered with Othram, Inc. to use advanced DNA testing to establish an identification of, or to find nearest kin to the decedent. Anyone with information about the decedent is encouraged to contact the Saginaw Police Department at 989-759-1235. A fund has been established to cover the costs of testing for this case. This case is logged in NamUs as UP9891.

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