Changes: Forrest

Latest revision as of 01:05, 16 April 2024

"Forrest" was a man whose skeletal remains were discovered between newly planted trees at a rest area off Interstate 10 in Columbia County, Florida, in 1978.

Case

On November 24, 1978, a man discovered skeletal remains near a rest area off Interstate 10 West in Columbia County while searching for a deer struck by his truck. The remains were found in freshly planted pines on the rest area property, covered in approximately three inches of dirt and pine needles.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Columbia County Sheriff's Office investigated the scene, yet a complete recovery of the remains proved unsuccessful.

Following an initial investigation, the case was shelved for several years until 1996 - when Deputy Robert Johnson of the Columbia County Sheriff's Office located a box of bones associated with the 1978 incident. Collaborating with forensic artists from the FBI and Anne Coy of the Seminole County Sheriff's Office, a composite sketch and clay bust of the John Doe, nicknamed "Forrest," was created.

Deputy Johnson also developed an IdentiKit sketch and extracted mitochondrial DNA from the bones for potential identification. "Forrest" was uploaded to NamUs in 2008 by Florida's District 4 Medical Examiner's Office.

In 2019, Anthony Redgrave of Redgrave Research Forensic Services with Jason Futch, an independent researcher, facilitated the update of "Forrest's" facial reconstruction after two decades. Their efforts prompted the CCSO to approve the new facial approximation to generate fresh leads. In May 2019, the CCSO issued a statement on Facebook alongside Redgrave's reconstruction, stating there was no foul play in the case.

Characteristics

Healed fracture of the left foot, possibly turning outward while walking, perhaps with a noticeable limp.
Arthritis in the spine and severe arthritis in the left hip
Possibly left hip injury.
Several healed unspecified facial fractures.
Healed fracture to the nose.
Numerous amalgam fillings and one porcelain filling.
Severe periodontal disease.

Exclusions

Gallery

Skull overlay of "Forrest" by Anthony Redgrave, 2019

Sources

Forrest at the Doe Network
Forrest at NamUs
Lake City Reporter

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{UID Infobox|title1= Forrest|image1 = File:Columbia_County_Doe_1978.jpg|sex = {{M}}|race = {{White}}|location = Lake City, Florida|discovered= November 24, 1978|span = {{age|1978|11|24}}|pmi = Years|body_condition = {{sk}}|age = 35-50|height = 5'9 - 5'10|cod = {{un}} <!--per law enforcement, homicide is no longer considered as a likely factor in his death -->|caption1=|weight=}}'''"Forrest"''' is a male whose skeletal remains were discovered between newly-planted trees at a rest area off Interstate 10 in Columbia County, Florida in 1978.
+{{UID Infobox|title1= Forrest|image1 = File:Columbia_County_Doe_1978.jpg|sex = {{M}}|race = {{White}}|location = Lake City, Florida|discovered= November 24, 1978|span = {{age|1978|11|24}}|pmi = 1+ years|condition = {{sk}}|age = 35-50|height = 5'9 - 5'10|cod = {{un}} <!--per law enforcement, homicide is no longer considered as a likely factor in his death -->|caption1=|weight=}}
+'''"Forrest"''' was a man whose skeletal remains were discovered between newly planted trees at a rest area off Interstate 10 in Columbia County, Florida, in 1978.
 ==Case==
-On November 24th, 1978 a South Florida man was trying to locate a deer he had hit with his truck near a rest area off Interstate 10 West in Columbia County around noon when he stumbled upon the bleached skeletal remains of a male. The remains were near freshly-planted pines that were growing on the property of the rest area. At the time, the rest area, which lies near the Suwanee County line, was fairly new. The bones had been covered in roughly three inches of dirt and old pine needles.
+On November 24, 1978, a man discovered skeletal remains near a rest area off Interstate 10 West in Columbia County while searching for a deer struck by his truck. The remains were found in freshly planted pines on the rest area property, covered in approximately three inches of dirt and pine needles.
-The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Columbia County Sheriffs Office investigated the scene and combed for additional bones and clues that could have led to an identification on the John Doe, but were unsuccessful at finding all of his remains.
+The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Columbia County Sheriff's Office investigated the scene, yet a complete recovery of the remains proved unsuccessful.
+Following an initial investigation, the case was shelved for several years until 1996 - when Deputy Robert Johnson of the Columbia County Sheriff's Office located a box of bones associated with the 1978 incident. Collaborating with forensic artists from the FBI and Anne Coy of the Seminole County Sheriff's Office, a composite sketch and clay bust of the John Doe, nicknamed "Forrest," was created.
-The remains were found near a piece of denim that may or may not be related to the victim.
+Deputy Johnson also developed an IdentiKit sketch and extracted mitochondrial DNA from the bones for potential identification. "Forrest" was uploaded to NamUs in 2008 by Florida's District 4 Medical Examiner's Office.
-==Characteristics==
-There was no intact clothing recovered, although there were some features of the remains, such as a healed broken nose that may have bent to the left, a healed broken left foot that may have made him walk with a limp; and severe arthritis in the left hip that may have been the result of a herniated disc.
+In 2019, Anthony Redgrave of Redgrave Research Forensic Services with Jason Futch, an independent researcher, facilitated the update of "Forrest's" facial reconstruction after two decades. Their efforts prompted the CCSO to approve the new facial approximation to generate fresh leads. In May 2019, the CCSO issued a statement on Facebook alongside Redgrave's reconstruction, stating there was no foul play in the case.
-The decedent's dental records displayed several unique features:
+==Characteristics==
-*The decedent had an overbite
-*He had amalgam fillings on 7 teeth (teeth #3, #4, #12, #13, #14, #18 and #31)
-* He had a porcelain filling on tooth #8
-*He had class 2-3 periodontal disease in all teeth present
-*His lower jaw had atrophied some in the molar area.
-Some of his limbs, along with one or both of his hands, were never recovered.
-==Investigation==
-The case was investigated by the Columbia County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) for a number of years until it was shelved for a long period of time. In 1996, Robert Johnson, a deputy with the CCSO, discovered a box filled with bones and was able to connect the bones to the case in 1978. Using the techniques available to him at the time, he consulted with forensic artists with the FBI and Anne Coy of the Seminole County Sheriffs Office to do a sketch composite and a clay bust composite of the John Doe. After the bust was completed, Coy nicknamed the John Doe "Forrest." Additionally, Deputy Johnson created an IdentiKit sketch of the John Doe.
-===Recent developments===
-After reopening Forrest's case, Deputy Johnson had mitochondrial DNA extracted from the bones, in case a match should come forward. Forrest was uploaded to NamUs in 2008 by Florida's District 4 Medical Examiner's Office.
-In 2019 Anthony Redgrave, formerly of the DNA Doe Project and current co-administrator of the Trans Doe Task Force updated the facial reconstruction of Forrest after over twenty years of inactivity in the investigation. This came after a few years of email exchanges between the CCSO and Jason Futch, an amateur sleuth who researched John and Jane Doe cases in the area. Futch and Redgrave were able to convince investigators with the CCSO to approve this new facial approximation with the hope that it could generate new leads in the case.
+* Healed fracture of the left foot, possibly turning outward while walking, perhaps with a noticeable limp.
-In May 2019, the CCSO released a statement regarding the case on Facebook; this statement was accompanied by Redgrave's reconstruction of the decedent's face. The CCSO released new information surrounding the discovery and also informed the public that he had not met with foul play as previously indicated.
+* Arthritis in the spine and severe arthritis in the left hip
+* Possibly left hip injury.
+* Several healed unspecified facial fractures.
+* Healed fracture to the nose.
+* Numerous amalgam fillings and one porcelain filling.
+* Severe periodontal disease.
-==Rule-outs==
+==Exclusions==
-As of February 29, 2020, there are eight missing person exclusions on NamUs.
-*Roland Martin Welsch, Jr., Texas
+*Roland Martin Welsch, Jr.
+*[https://www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/17678 Allan Kaplan]
-*Allan Kaplan, Florida
+*[https://www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/13556 Bobby Clyatt]
-*Bobby Clyatt, Florida
-*Daniel Goldman, Florida
+*[https://www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/15001 Daniel Goldman]
-*Kenneth Gautier, Florida
+*[https://www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/33291 Kenneth Gautier]
+*[https://www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/28694 Ricky Olsen]
-* Ricky Olsen, Florida
+*[https://www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/20414 Paul Egan]
-*Paul Egan, Florida
-*John Ballenger, Florida
+*[https://www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/21518 John Ballenger]
+*[https://www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/36304 Royce Wilson]
 ==Gallery==
@@ Line 50: / Line 43: @@
 Forrest 05.jpg
 PM.jpg|link=File:sketch1556770381294-o7aohyur9cvyp8dd74ysoac5qtdyi5pbos9jjb22gw.png|Skull overlay of "Forrest" by Anthony Redgrave, 2019
+File:Forrest2019.png|2019 rendering by Anthony Lukas Redgrave
 </gallery>
@@ Line 72: / Line 66: @@
 [[Category:Young adults]]
 [[Category:Cases over 40 years old]]
+[[Category:Long age ranges]]