Description
On February 26, 2019, the body of a white man was found in a homeless encampment in Tucson, Arizona. His age was estimated to be between 32 and 50 years old, although he may have appeared older. He was between 5’9” and 5’11” tall and weighed approximately 159 lbs. His hair was gray/partially gray and he had brown eyes. One of his upper front teeth had been replaced with a porcelain crown.
The man was wearing a blue T-shirt, a beige short-sleeved shirt, a gray sweatshirt, black pants and white socks.
NamUs ID: UP56117
Date Body Found: February 26, 2019
Race: White
Sex: Male
Estimated Age: 32-50
Estimated PMI: Hours
Location: Tucson, AZ; possible homeless camp
Agency of Jurisdiction
Pima Co Medical Examiner
Bruce Anderson
520-724-8633
Links to More Information
https://www.namus.gov/UnidentifiedPersons/Case#/56117?nav
Status: Identified
Tucson, AZ ~ Investigators with the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner, working with the DNA Doe Project, have announced the identity of a man found in a homeless encampment in Tucson as Tommy Gayle Pool, Jr. from Virginia.
Tommy Gayle Pool
On February 26, 2019, the body of Mr. Pool was located without any identification among his belongings. Investigators estimated his age to be between 32 and 50 years old, but he was actually 61 years old at the time of his death. This year, Bruce Anderson, forensic anthropologist from the ME’s office brought the case to the DNA Doe Project to try to use investigative genetic genealogy to determine an identity. The Medical Examiner had collected a blood sample that was used to develop a DNA profile that was then uploaded to the GEDmatch Pro database.
“We were lucky to find two relatively close DNA matches after uploading John Doe’s DNA to GEDmatch Pro, both of whom turned out to be second cousins,” said DNA Doe Project Team Leader Matthew Waterfield. “Less than 18 hours after we started work on the case, our wonderful team was able to identify the Doe.”
The DNA Doe Project is a non-profit organization that partners with law enforcement to solve cases of unidentified Jane and John Doe remains. Many cases, including Mr. Pool’s case, are fully funded by the project’s donors.
“This case is an excellent example of how the teams work together at DDP,” said Gwen Knapp, co-Team Leader. “The investigative work involved a variety of avenues including property record searches, obituaries, encyclopedia entries, and traditional genealogical records and the team worked to flesh out each important record that led to our discovery of the identity of Mr. Pool.”
The DNA Doe Project wishes to acknowledge the contributions of the groups and individuals who helped solve this case: Bruce Anderson and the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner, who entrusted the case to the DNA Doe Project; Genologue for extraction and sequencing of DNA; Kevin Lord of Saber Investigations for bioinformatics; GEDmatch Pro and FTDNA for providing their databases; our generous donors who contributed to this case; and DDP’s dedicated teams of volunteer investigative genetic genealogists who work tirelessly to bring victims home.
Image Credit: Carl Koppelman
Doe-Nate Fund:
DNA Doe Project’s generous donors provided the funds to help cover the costs involved in solving it. Funds donated paid for expensive labwork and operational support of our volunteer team of investigative genetic genealogists. DNA Doe Project is a 501(c)3 non-profit. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Last Updated: February 12, 2024
