It’s been nearly 30 years, but the case continues in the quest to find the identity of a man near Pleasant Prairie.
The case began on August 27th, 1993, when a photographer walking on a section of the Soo Line railroad tracks found a deceased male’s body. However, the body had already begun to deteriorate. Later, the Pleasant Prairie Police and the Kenosha County Medical Examiner’s Office (KCMEO) responded to the scene to investigate.
After an extensive investigation, including an autopsy, forensic anthropology exam, forensic dental exam, and a reconstruction of the decedent’s tattoo, the information did not give the decedent’s identity nor other leads in the case, identifying the body as John Doe.
The case remained untouched from the time of the initial investigation until January 2009, when investigators entered John Doe’s case information into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) database. Even with the entrance into the system, no additional leads were produced, leaving the decedent’s
identity unknown.
In December 2014, the KCMEO and the Pleasant Prairie Police agreed to send John Doe’s skull to the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification (UNTCHI) for several other examinations, including secondary forensic anthropology examination, forensic odontology examination, and DNA extraction.
In June of 2016, upon the completion of the examination, the body was described to be a male between 40 and 60 years of age with Hispanic, Native American, or Caucasian ancestry. With the DNA analysis complete, those results were uploaded into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) through the FBI. With that information learned, in 2018, the KCMEO partnered with the DNA Doe Project, which allowed for advanced genetic genealogy that identified the John Doe was of Native American descent. The family of the deceased man could have lived in areas of north-central Wisconsin, including the Keshena, Shawano, Langlade, Calumet, or Waupaca areas. Investigators also determined the male descendant has relatives from the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin.
2 months after the examination the KCMEO sent the information to the Michigan State Police Biometrics and Identification Division, who agreed to perform a facial reconstruction of the 1993 John Doe and came up with the following facial design. That design is below…
The case remains open as officials continue to try to get the 1993 John Doe his name back. Anyone with interest in the case should contact the Pleasant Prairie Police Department at 262-694-7353.
