The Discovery: April 16, 1976
Another John Doe
On April 16, 1976 a heavy equipment operator working in an area off of US 19 in Dixie County, Florida (near the Taylor County line) was going about his day at work when his attention was diverted by an object lying on the ground a short distance away. Curious, he got down from his vehicle and walked closer to get a better look. He soon realized that what he had discovered were human remains and he quickly put in a call to the Dixie County Sheriff’s Office.
Because the remains were skeletal the sheriff called in agents from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) who assembled a team of specialists to conduct an anthropological examination. Investigators determined that the bones were those of a young man in his mid-twenties who had been dead for approximately two years and that he had been the victim of a homicide.
The skeleton was analyzed by experts in Florida State University’s Department of Anthropology in Tallahassee. Parts of it were sent out to other research institutions, including the Smithsonian Institution, in an attempt to glean further information that could shed light on the identity of the victim. A thorough analysis of the teeth and jaw revealed that the young man had received excellent dental care throughout his life and a report was prepared for publication in a professional dental journal. The hope was that a dentist somewhere would recognize the victim by his teeth.
The discovery of the bones and the information revealed through thorough investigation, examination, and analysis would only go so far without a name. Who was this young man and how did he end up here? Wasn’t anyone missing him? Investigators tried in vain for years to discover their John Doe’s identity but the pieces were not falling into place. Not yet.
The discovery of these bones on the eastern side of the United States was part of a painstakingly long journey for a family 2,300 miles away on the west coast who did indeed miss this young man very, very much.
Date of Discovery:
April 16, 1976
Location:
Dixie County, Florida
Near the Taylor County line, close to US 19
Gulf of Mexico
