Description
On October 29, 2010, a man walking his dog along a private Lake Michigan beach in Covert Township, Michigan came across the body of an unidentified man who had washed ashore. At the time the water temperature was approximately 51°F with high waves and strong winds. Investigators believe, given the weather conditions and location of the body, the deceased could have come from Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, or Illinois, including the Chicago area.
Forensic investigators determined the body to be that of an Asian, Hispanic or Native American male 25 to 40 years old, approximately 5-foot-6-inches tall with black hair, and weighing 173 lbs. He had extensive dental work and was wearing blue/gray Nike brand swim trunks. Police consider drowning the probable cause of death, and estimate he had died months earlier that year.
Public’s Help Needed to Identify John Doe
DNA Doe Project Hoping for Leads in 2010 Case of Unidentified
Lake Michigan Swimmer
Van Buren County, Michigan – The DNA Doe Project and Michigan State Police need the public’s help to identify a John Doe whose remains were recovered nearly 14 years ago.
On October 10, 2010, a man walking his dog discovered a body that had washed ashore along a private Lake Michigan beach in Covert Township, Michigan. Investigators determined that the unidentified man had drowned months earlier, and he may have gone into the water anywhere around the lake – including Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, or Illinois. The DNA Doe Project began working on the case in 2020. While researchers have been able to analyze John Doe’s DNA to determine he is of Korean or Chinese descent, their work has been stalled by too few DNA relative matches in the databases used for investigative genetic genealogy.
The public is asked to review the forensic sketch of this John Doe and reach out to the DNA Doe Project at case-tips@dnadoeproject.org if they recognize him.
Another way to help is to take a direct-to-consumer DNA test at sites like AncestryDNA.com and 23andMe.com and then to upload to the databases that can be used by law enforcement and investigators with groups like DNA Doe Project – GEDmatch.com, FamilyTreeDNA.com, and DNAJustice.org.
“We want people to know how critical it is to upload their DNA profiles,” said Emily Bill, team leader on the Van Buren County John Doe case. “Even if they are not a match to this John Doe, they could be the match that reunites other unidentified people with their families and communities.”
“The DNA relative matches we have been working with are very distant relatives of our John Doe,” added Jennifer Randolph, team co-leader. “In fact, uploads from people of Korean and Chinese descent from anywhere in the country could help us identify him.”
NamUs ID: UP8600
Date Body Found: October 29, 2010
Race: Asian
Gender: Male
Estimated Age: 25-40
Estimated PMI: months
Location: Covert Township, MI
Agency of Jurisdiction
Michigan State Police, Intelligence Operations Division
Hanna Friedlander, Human Remains Analyst
517-242-5731
friedlanderh@michigan.gov
Links to More Information
https://www.namus.gov/UnidentifiedPersons/Case#/8600/
https://www.michigan.gov/msp/0,4643,7-123-1878_72298_54860-259105–,00.html
https://unidentified.wikia.org/wiki/Van_Buren_County_John_Doe_(2010)
Status: Research in progress
Image Credit: Heather Clark, MSP Artist
Last Updated: December 16, 2024
