New DNA evidence links mystery of body found 27 years ago in Wisconsin to SC tribe

A body found 27 years ago in Wisconsin has been linked by new DNA evidence to the Catawba Nation in Upstate South Carolina.

Investigators are now hoping someone in the area will recognize the man based on a facial reconstruction model.

Kenosha County (Wisconsin) Medical Examiner Patrice Hall released the DNA report last week, saying the man appears to be “descended from the relatively small Catawba Indian Nation.” The federally recognized tribe has a reservation in York County, just south of Charlotte, N.C.

“I am encouraged and hopeful that with this new information ... we may soon be able to identify our 1993 John Doe,” Hall said in a press release.

The man’s manner of death was reclassified “from homicide to undetermined,” according to the release.

The body was found Aug. 27, 1993, in the town of Pleasant Prairie by a photographer who was walking along railroad tracks “just north of the Illinois state line,” according to Hall’s report.

“With the body in an advanced state of decomposition, investigators were unable to yield the identity of the decedent, and no additional leads in the case turned up,” the report says.

The cold case got a boost when it was learned the Pleasant Prairie police kept the man’s skull, allowing for DNA testing by the DNA Doe Project through the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification, Hall said in the report. The analysis concluded the man “was roughly 40 to 60 years old” and missing four upper-front teeth.

“The immense amount of effort that has gone into this investigation highlights the importance of bringing closure to these types of cases,” Pleasant Prairie Police Chief David Smetana said in a press release.

“It remains our goal to identify this individual and, again, bring a sense of closure to his family,” the release said.

Anyone who thinks they can help identity the man is asked to call Pleasant Prairie police at 262-694-7353, or Kenosha Area Crime Stoppers at 262-656-7333, according to the press release.

This story was originally published January 20, 2020 at 1:59 PM with the headline "New DNA evidence links mystery of body found 27 years ago in Wisconsin to SC tribe."