Canton Oil Well John Doe

Description:

On March 31, 2020, an oil well worker discovered the skeletal remains of an adult Caucasian male in a rural area off of Sandy Avenue in Canton, OH. Investigators believe he was between 30-50 years old and 5’1” and 5’9” tall. He may have suffered previous fractures to his ribs, and he was missing all of his teeth. He also had a skull fracture and shoulder fracture at the time of his death. A manner of death could not be determined.

The clothing recovered with the remains included a navy blue, yellow and white striped T-shirt, black shorts and sneakers.

The man is believed to have died prior to 2018.

Status:

Identified

DNA Doe Project team ID’s man found in Canton in 2020

Funding for investigative genetic genealogy provided by audiochuck

Canton, Ohio – The DNA Doe Project and the Stark County Sheriff’s Office have identified Michael Allan Leach, formerly known as Canton Oil Well John Doe.

Michael Leach

On March 31, 2020, an oil well worker discovered the skeletal remains of an adult man in a rural area off of Sandy Avenue in Canton, Ohio. Investigators estimated he was between 30-50 years old and had been dead since 2018. He appeared to have suffered previous fractures to his ribs and was missing teeth. A manner of death was not clear, but it was determined that skull and shoulder fractures occurred at the time of his death.

In September, 2023, the Stark County Sheriff’s Office brought the case to the DNA Doe Project to try investigative genetic genealogy to determine the identity of the John Doe after traditional investigative techniques failed to generate meaningful leads. Funding for the case was provided through a sponsorship grant from audiochuck, the parent company of the Crime Junkie podcast.
A sample of bone was submitted for laboratory analysis to generate a DNA profile that was then uploaded to GEDmatch Pro and FamilyTreeDNA.com. Then, volunteer investigative genetic genealogists with the DNA Doe Project took 105 hours to build out John Doe’s family tree to locate the branch of Michael Allan Leach. The identification was confirmed through a direct DNA match with a close family member.

Michael Allan Leach was born in 1957, making him about 61 years old at the time of his death. He was born and attended school in Ohio and his last known residence was in Dover.

“One parent side was fairly well represented in the databases and we were able to build genealogical profiles for that side pretty quickly,” said team co-leader Eric Hendershott. “The other parent side was much more difficult with a grandparent’s immigration from Italy and far fewer matches.”

The team’s research was advanced when a distant DNA relative who was working on her own genealogical mystery provided assistance and important details that enabled them to finally bring together both family sides, leading to the identification of Michael Leach.

“I am always touched by the willingness of distant DNA relatives who provide their assistance in assuring their relatives are provided answers for the identities of their family members,” said team co-leader Traci Onders. “This care for distant relatives that they have never met can be essential to the work we do and is quite remarkable in affirming the basic humanity in us all.”

The DNA Doe Project is grateful to the groups and individuals who helped resolve this case: the Stark County Sheriff’s Office, who entrusted the case to the DNA Doe Project; Daicel Arbor Biosciences for extraction of DNA from bone, sample prep, and whole-genome sequencing; Kevin Lord for bioinformatics; GEDmatch Pro and FTDNA for providing their databases; our generous sponsor, audiochuck, who fully funded this case; and DDP’s dedicated teams of volunteer investigative genetic genealogists who work tirelessly to bring all our Jane and John Does home.

NamUs ID:

UP76954

Date Body Found:

3/31/2020

Race:

White/Caucasian

Sex:

Male

Estimated Age:

30-50

Estimated PMI:

unknown