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Here on the Unidentified Wiki, we value the extensive contributions by our variety of diverse editors. Here, members of the site can nominate a case close to them for "featured" status, which indicates the importance of the article's subject to our website.

See our current list of featured cases here.

Definition of a "Featured Case"

A featured case can have two major reasons for nomination. The first is for its popularity in the media or legacy it left. Its importance to bringing change in the field of science and technology, or perhaps the length of time it may have taken to solve supports the reasons for consideration.

A second factor is the content of the article. A case may not be as well known to the public, yet the quality of writing and the amount of work put into the page is worth recognizing.

Cases with a featured status will have a star symbol next to their name in the infobox portion of their entry.

Guidelines

For those participating in the nomination process or the discussion following, some steps must be taken.

  • To nominate a case, add a new section to this page detailing the case title (with a link), giving a short description, and why it was nominated.
  • Users are to respond with "support," "neutral," or "oppose" in bold, followed by their reason for such a decision.
    • In order to be selected, a case must have at least three "support" votes.
      • The votes supporting the nomination must outnumber the opposition votes.
      • At least one administrator is required to voice support for a nomination to be selected.
  • All comments must be civil and appropriate. Failure to do so may result in a temporary block.
  • Decisions should be made by means other than emotional; as we need to avoid a bias of this type.
  • Cases that have issues with formatting, copy and pasting from other sources, or otherwise very short are ineligible for nomination until such concerns are adjusted.
  • Please link to your user page (ex: [[User:Example|Example]]) at the end of your comment to identify yourself as the voter.

Nominations

Vernon County Jane Doe

Vernon County Jane Doe was an elderly female who was found murdered in Wisconsin in 1984. She had been beaten, her hands severed from her body and had been dumped at the location she had been found in. She is quite a prominent UID case with her own Wikipedia article, extensive leads and has recently been taken on by the DNA Doe Project. She is also a UID who is elderly, which many of our featured cases are not. (Nominated by Hoshiiiii)

  • Support: As she was found in my home state and has had a significant amount of testing and media coverage. Interestingly, when I originally came across this case, I actually wondered if I was related to her because of a resemblance to my grandfather (we're not related, as our DNA would have matched in GedMatch by now).-Gourami Watcher
  • Support: This has been a highly chased case by web sleuths for years now, and the investigation by the DNA Doe Project has been slow thus far (FamilyTreeDNA results notwithstanding). I feel if she were to get a featured case status, and possibly replace the slot on the home page that Mario Palermo was recently removed from, hopefully it would help bolster the case's exposure and help her get identified faster. -SergeIvanov13

Gloucester County Jane Doe (1990)

Gloucester County Jane Doe (1990) was a young woman or teen whose partial skeletal remains were discovered behind a supermarket in Deptford, New Jersey. The cause of JD's death is believed to by ligature strangulation. I have worked a lot on this article, researching extensively on what little info I could find on the case, and even taking my own photograph of the building she was found behind. I think that this relatively unknown case would make for a great featured article. (Nominated by Blackholesun1)

  • Oppose: I'm a little hesitant on this one since there isn't a whole lot available on her case history. There also don't seem to be a lot of news articles on her case, and NCMEC removed her from their site (although she's listed on their case map). I'm hoping that implies that they'll eventually add her back, with an updated reconstruction, which would probably bring more attention to her case.
  • Neutral - Unfortunately, there just isn't much information out there about her case. If NCMEC add her back with another reconstruction and more updated information, I'm willing to change my vote to Support. - Hoshiiiii

Linda Pagano

Linda Pagano was a teenager who was found murdered in Strongsville, Ohio in 1975 and wasn't identified until 2018. Her identification was made possible through the dedication and hard work of the online community, including Carl Koppelman. Due to the teamwork and dedication that was required for her identification, I believe she would make a great featured case. - (Nominated by Hoshiiiii)

  • Support: Well-known and interesting case. I do feel there is room for expansion, but the article should be considered nonetheless. -Gourami Watcher

Denise Beaudin

Denise Beaudin was a woman who disappeared in 1981 while dating Terry Rasmussen, who had killed his previous girlfriend Marlyse Honeychurch, her children, and his own daughter. Beaudin's case remains popular, as a result of Rasmussen's notoriety and the Bear Brook murders. - (Nominated by Gourami Watcher)

  • Support - A well known missing person case that is connected to one of the most well-known UID cases. - Hoshiiiii
  • Support - An important piece of Rasmussen's complex history, with prominent media coverage. - Gourami Watcher

Peter Bergmann

The mystery of Peter Bergmann is reaching it's 11th anniversary this week, and has a lot of information that makes no sense at all. On June 12, 2009, a man traveled from Londonderry to Sligo in Ireland by bus. Following his arrival, he checked into a hotel under the name Peter Bergmann and listed an address of Ainstettersn 15, 4472, Vienna, Austria. During his stay, he left the hotel 15 times carrying a purple plastic bag which had something inside it, but when he returned to the hotel, he wasn't carrying any bag. He is also believed to have sent letters out of Ireland on June 13th, that may have been able to solve this case. On June 15th, he took a bus to Rosses Point Beach, which he had visited the previous day. Between 3:00 PM and 11:50 PM, he would be seen acting very bizarrely on the beach. At 6:45 AM on June 16th, his body washed up on Rosses Point. An autopsy confirmed that the cause of death was a heart attack and not drowning, and that the man was in very poor health. He had terminal prostate cancer, numerous bone tumours, and had suffered previous heart attacks. Investigators believe that this was a suicide, and that the man had disposed of his belongings via the purple bag. The real question investigators have never been able to answer is the exact identity of this man, as the name and address he gave didn't exist.

I think this case deserves to be featured, as not only does it have a Wikipedia page, but it has received a good amount of coverage in Ireland. There's Ciaran Cassidy's The Last Days Of Peter Bergmann, Irish Times coverage, including the podcast Atlantic. I do hope that this man receives his identity back, or at least his family is let known that he is deceased. - (Nominated by Grungster)

  • Support - A well known UID case with interesting theories and a lot of press coverage. - Hoshiiiii

Wilmington John Doe (April 1973)

Wilmington John Doe (April 1973) is a young man whose dismembered remains were found all over Los Angeles County starting in April 22, 1973. He is a victim of serial killer Randy Kraft. It would appear that despite the circumstances of his case, this UID has fallen under the cracks. What I mean by this is that Kraft's other unidentified victims Wilmington John Doe (February 1973), Long Beach John Doe (1979), and Marion County John Doe (1980) all have NamUs and Doe Network entries, but this victim has neither even though, as far as I can tell, he has not been identified. Because of the lack of prominence of this UID despite the circumstances, I propose we make this a featured case.

Update: A NamUs file for him was created on July 24, 2020. Here is a link.

- (Nominated by PuzzleDude400)

  • Oppose - I feel that there is not really enough information about this case out there to make it a featured article. - Hoshiiiii
  • Oppose - Although I am fascinated by the Randy Kraft cases, I agree with Hoshiiiii's point about the availability of information. The Wilmington John Doe (February 1973) article was featured before the nomination process was created (and back when the site was first started), and does have a similar issue with available information. In the future, cases that were featured before we started voting (that are not unquestionably prominent) will undergo a re-nomination process out of fairness to other users.

Benjaman Kyle

Benjaman Kyle is a man who was found with amnesia in 2004 and was identified in 2015. He was previously nominated but the article lacked content, however, I've expanded it quite a bit and feel it can be nominated again. Due to the coverage and press attention this case received, as well as the efforts made to identify him (arguably one of the first identifications through geneaology), I believe he should be a featured case. (Nominated by Hoshiiiii)

Support - I agree, The case has had a lot of media coverage, including CBS and Dr. Phil, and the circumstances are so bizarre. -Grungster

Ben Bilemy

Ben Bilemy was a man who was found dead on a hiking trail in Opachee, Florida in 2018. There are many images of the decedent while alive, which makes this case particularly intriguing. He also went by several aliases and appeared to be familiar with many people on the hiking trail, however, none knew his true identity. Due to the intrigue around this case with the photos of the decedent alive and the number of people who knew him, in addition to the aliases that lead to more questions, I'm nominating him to be a featured case. -Hoshiiiii

  • Support: Ben's case is one that is very fascinating, since there are many pictures and eyewitness accounts of him while he was still alive, yet the case is still shrouded in mystery. -EnterTheLizard
  • Support: A very popular John Doe represented across the media and community. I do recommend the "case" portion of the article to be expanded a little more, but there is no denying the prominence of his case.- Gourami Watcher

Archived discussions

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