In September 2018, the owner of a wooded piece of land in Chapin Township, MI, was checking game cameras and discovered the remains of an unidentified man. The unidentified man had been fully skeletonized by the time he was discovered, suggesting a time of death at around 1 to 5 years prior to discovery. An autopsy confirmed that the cause of death was severe blunt force trauma. The state of decomposition made it difficult to confirm the man's physical attributes, but pathologists were able to determine that the man was likely an adult male between the ages of 25 and 55, who stood at around 5’10 feet tall. There was no definitive assessment of biogeographical ancestry. The unknown man was fully clothed and had black Sketchers work boots, a 32-inch Calvin Klein belt, and a Boston Trader’s sweatshirt.
Forensic anthropologists and police investigators believe the man's death could be a homicide. Many of his bones were broken, consistent with the unknown man being severely beaten, hit by a vehicle, or falling from a high point. Investigators are hopeful that identifying this man may lead to answers surrounding his mysterious death. So far, investigators have exhausted all available leads, including DNA testing through CODIS.
In 2021, Saginaw County Sheriff’s Office partnered with Othram to use advanced DNA testing to establish an identification of, or to find nearest kin to the unidentified man. Anyone with information about the this man or the circumstances of his death is encouraged to contact the Saginaw Sheriff's Office at (989) 790-5404. A DNASolves Crowdfund has been established to cover the costs of testing for this case. The case has been logged in NamUs as UP55392.
You can contrinute funding here.
Republished courtesy of DNASolves/Othram.