Summary
In October 1978, the partial skeletal remains of an unidentified individual were discovered on the property of what was then the Volusia County FFA Agriculture Farm. The land in DeLand, Florida now belongs to the Volusia County Farm Bureau. DeLand is a city in central Florida, just 35 miles north of the business district of Orlando. Investigators arrived at the scene, and the Volusia County Medical Examiner's Office determined that the remains were that of a male between the ages of 21 and 35. At the time of the man’s discovery, he had remnants of gold foil restoration on the surface of several teeth.
Upon further examination, the individual’s ancestry could not be definitively determined, and his cause of death was likely due to natural causes. It was also determined that the time between death and the discovery of the remains was more than 18 months. After the remains were recovered, details of the case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP1381. Despite investigators’ efforts to identify the man, his identity remains a mystery.
In 2024, in collaboration with the Volusia County Medical Examiner's Office, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office partnered with Othram to determine if advanced DNA testing can help identify the man. Anyone with information that could aid in the investigation is encouraged to contact the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office by calling 386-736-5961 and referencing agency case number 1978-00388.
The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office has contributed a portion of the funds for this case, and 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.