Alachua County John Doe was a male discovered in Florida in 1979. He was later found to have not been from the Florida area, and he may have traveled from the West.
Case
On February 13, 1979, the man's skeletal remains were discovered under a tree in a wooded area near State Route 236. A noose was found above the remains, suggesting he committed suicide by hanging or that he may have been murdered in the same way.
Eventual isotope testing indicated the man was not likely native to the area, and he had spent only a matter of days to months in Florida. He may have originated from states further north, such as Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, or as far as the midwestern states of Ohio and Indiana.
He may have also spent a reasonable amount of time in the West, including Colorado, Utah, Nevada, or inland regions of Washington and Oregon.
The DNA Doe Project has been involved with his case since 2018. The organization has faced numerous difficulties to obtain a usable profile for genealogic research, but funding is currently being raised for a fourth extraction.
Characteristics
- The decedent was likely muscular.
- He had a light complexion.
- He had blonde or reddish hair.
- He had healed fractures on both the left and right sides of the upper front ribs in the chest.
Clothing
- Brown tie-up shoes.
- Brown worker pants.
- A light-colored patterned shirt with short sleeves.
- A light blue nylon windbreaker.
