Summary
In September 1986, skeletal remains were discovered by fishermen in the Long Island Sound several miles off the coast of Westbrook, Connecticut. Forensic anthropologists determined that the remains belonged to a White man who was between 18 and 30 years old at his time of death. Investigators were unable to determine the man’s cause of death or other identifying characteristics such as weight, height, eye color, or hair color due to the condition of the remains. Investigators estimate that the man had been dead for five years prior to the discovery of his remains. Since discovery, law enforcement investigators have diligently pursued various leads about the unknown man’s identity.
In October 2015, the case was entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP14439. Despite exhaustive efforts, the case eventually went cold and the man’s identity has remained a mystery.
In 2023, as part of an ongoing collaboration aimed at solving the backlog of cold cases in Connecticut, the Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner partnered with Othram in The Woodlands, Texas. Othram will use Forensic-Grade Genomic Sequencing® to build a comprehensive DNA profile to generate new investigative leads for the case.
Anyone with information that could aid in this investigation is encouraged to contact the Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner by calling 860-679-3980 and referencing agency case M-86-341 or NamUs ID UP14439.
A DNASolves crowdfund has been created to raise funds for 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.