In September 1979, two hikers discovered human remains on a rocky slope above a little-used trail near Multnomah Falls. They found bones, a skull and a few personal belongings: gold-rimmed aviator glasses, a yellow cap with black felt letters reading “NT” and a chewed-up checkbook from First National Bank of Oregon. But there was no wallet or other identifying information.
Based on the bones and hair found at the scene, investigators determined the body likely belonged to a man, between 20 and 35 years old, with a thick, curly beard. A news brief that ran in The Oregonian noted that the remains “had been exposed to the elements for quite some time.”
Police sent the skull and mandible to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., for an anthropological exam, which concluded that the person who died was likely African American.
But who did the remains belong to? Police had no leads. No one had been reported missing. For decades the bones sat in a box at the Oregon State Police medical examiner’s office in Clackamas.
Now, more than four decades after the remains were first discovered, John Doe 79-1862 has a name.
On Episode 5 of The Unidentifieds, hosts Regan Mertz and Dave Killen travel to Multnomah Falls and explore its labyrinth-like trail network. They talk to investigators assigned to the case in 1979 and to experts who explain how the cruel legacy of slavery has affected genetic genealogy efforts to connect Black families to lost relatives.
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