Authorities Seek Help Identifying Franklin County John Doe

(COLUMBUS, Ohio) — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Franklin County Coroner Dr. Anahi Ortiz are seeking assistance to identify a man whose body was found on May 30, 2007.

“This unidentified person may be the victim of a homicide and identification could reignite the case,” Yost said. “A single tip has the potential to reunite a family with their loved one and bring closure to a community — and maybe, help us take a killer off the street.”

“Through collaboration with experts from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, the post-mortem photo has been released in an attempt to provide a name to this man,” Dr. Ortiz said. “My hope is that by releasing this photo, we can provide closure to the family and friends of this man. As coroner, I take seriously our duty to serve the community of Franklin County and speak for those who cannot.”

The male was located in the Scioto River off State Route 33 near the City of Columbus Water Treatment Facility on Dublin Road. He is believed to have been deceased for a few weeks prior to the discovery of his remains.

The man is believed to be 25 to 40 years old and is between 5 feet, 7 inches and 5 feet, 10 inches tall. He has a one-inch healed scar on the right side of the forehead, and he was wearing a gray button-up shirt, women’s size 8 tan pants and a single size 10 brown shoe.

Post-mortem images, which are based on photographs taken after the man’s death, were completed by a forensic artist from Attorney General Yost’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation. BCI’s Criminal Intelligence Unit also released a public bulletin about the case today.

Anyone with information is asked to call BCI’s Criminal Intelligence Unit at 740-845-2406 or the Franklin County Coroner’s Office at 614-525-5290.

In addition to post-mortem images, BCI’s forensic artist is available to assist local law enforcement with the creation of forensic facial reconstruction models and age-progression photographs to help identify remains and locate missing persons.

BCI also offers the Ohio LINK (Linking Individuals Not Known) Program, a free service to police, coroners and families of missing individuals. The LINK Program was established through the Ohio Attorney General’s Office in 1999 to help match DNA taken from family members of missing individuals to DNA from unidentified remains. Samples of DNA submitted by family members as part of the LINK Program are compared only to DNA samples of unidentified remains submitted through similar programs nationwide. 

Analysts with BCI’s Missing Persons Unit can also provide case review, investigative assistance, link charts and mapping. Law enforcement officials and family members of missing persons interested in learning more about the services that BCI’s Missing Persons Unit provides should call 855-BCI-OHIO (855-224-6446).

Click here to view the full bulletin.