Sketch of the victim (left) and a digital rendering (right). Credit: City of Opelika
Two weeks ago, Opelika (Alabama) Police and the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences exhumed the remains of an unidentified Black male from a local cemetery for re-examination.
The subsequent re-examination significantly adjusts the victim’s estimated age and height, which investigators believe could be the key to matching the remains with missing persons reports from the era—those that had been previously excluded because they were thought not to match the victim.
Original details
On Sept. 22, 1990, the body of a young Black male was recovered from a creek bed, approximately one-tenth of a mile from Interstate 85 in Opelika. The body was sent to Montgomery for an autopsy.
After a medical examination, the cause of death was determined to be homicide from a single gunshot wound. The victim was wearing a white St. Louis Cardinals jersey type shirt with red pin stripes, Jordache blue jeans and black Ellesse shoes.
The coroner estimated the victim to be between the ages of 18 to 25 years old, 135 to 145 lbs., and approximately 5 foot 8 inches. During the initial investigation, detectives were unable to locate any missing persons reports similar to the victim.
Re-examination details
However, a re-examination of the victim’s bones revealed significantly different physical characteristics than originally reported.
On May 5, 2026, investigators exhumed the remains of the unidentified gunshot victim from Evergreen Cemetery. The remains were transported by the Lee County Coroner to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences’ Montgomery Medical Laboratory for examination.
Three days later, ADFS’ chief medical examiner of the ADFS examined the remains alongside forensic anthropologists. The new examination suggests the victim was a juvenile, not over the age of 18.
While the current medical examiner kept the cause of death and the estimated weight the same at the 1990 profile, he did revise age and height.
The revised profile is:
- 15 to 18 years old
- Approximately 5 feet 5 inches to 5 feet 6 inches.
Detectives are now cross-referencing this new physical profile with missing persons cases from 1990—and earlier—that may have previously been excluded based on the original age and height estimates.
A bone sample was also collected during the recent examination for further DNA analysis efforts.