Death of Jason Callahan

Death

Callahan was killed in a one vehicle accident, along with the driver, Michael Hager, after the Vanagon in which they were riding crashed into a pair of trees on U.S. Route 58 West around 1:30 PM on June 26, 1995. Neither man was wearing a seat belt, which likely contributed to each of their deaths. Found with Callahan's body were two Grateful Dead tickets from Washington, D.C., which had been scalped, a dollar in quarters, and a yellow BIC lighter. A letter was found, depending on sources either in the John Doe's pocket or near the crash site, reading: To Jason, Sorry we had to go, see you around, call me #914-XXXX. Caroline T. and Caroline O. Bye!!!!. The phone number on the letter lacked an area code and never led to any additional clues. The letter also contained a small drawing that some speculate may be that of Jerry Garcia. The tickets were dated June 24, 1995, and June 25, 1995, respectively. Neither of the 'Carolines' have ever been identified.

Physical description

The young man, estimated to be between the ages of fifteen and twenty-one years old, had brown eyes with long curly brown or dark blond hair that had been dyed a reddish color. There was a tattoo of a star on his upper-left arm and another possible tattoo, which was faded, on his right arm, both of which appeared to have been amateurishly executed. He was wearing a beaded necklace and his left ear had been pierced but he did not wear an earring. There was a scar found on his back. He was a Caucasian, had no apparent dental work as his third molars were visible. However, his teeth were fairly well cared for. At the time of the accident he was wearing a red, tie-dyed Grateful Dead T-shirt, Levi jeans, white socks and black Fila running shoes.

Investigation

The vehicle's driver was identified as Michael E. Hager, 21, who may have picked the John Doe up as a hitchhiker, and who authorities hypothesize may have fallen asleep at the wheel, as neither of the decedents had drugs or alcohol in their bodies. It has been suggested that Hager may have agreed to transport the John Doe because of their similar styles of dress, as they both appeared to be fans of The Grateful Dead. Authorities attempted to identify the John Doe through fingerprint analysis with the aid of national databases, but were unsuccessful.

When interviewed, Hager's family could not identify the unknown passenger, who had been reported to have been riding in Hager's Volkswagen Vanagon when he stopped to give his father a letter in Williamsburg, Virginia. However, a detective from the area stated that this claim was not accurate, and that Hager was alone when he stopped to visit his father. It is speculated that the unidentified young man had actually been picked up between Fairfax and Gloucester, Virginia.

Due to the severity of the lacerations on John Doe's face, mortuary photographs could not be released to the public, although a facial reconstruction was later released. In 2012, another facial reconstruction was created by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The man who had originally bought the tickets found in John Doe's pocket did not remember the person he had sold them to. At least 221 missing people were ruled out as possible identities of the victim.

2015 developments

In 2015, photographs surfaced of a young man wearing similar clothing to that worn by the John Doe and who bore a strong resemblance to the reconstruction images. The person in these photographs was named Jason and was described to have been a fan of Grateful Dead. He had not been heard from since 1995 and was known to have lived in both Illinois and South Carolina. It had not yet been verified whether this was indeed the John Doe as his former roommates and other friends did not recall Jason's last name. The New York Post, The Daily Mail and BuzzFeed, were some of the newspapers that covered the story.

In January 2015, law enforcement conducted a DNA test to see if the John Doe was the same man as Jason Patrick Callahan, the son of a 63-year-old woman who had not seen or heard from him since June 1995, when he left home to "follow the Grateful Dead". Callahan, who was identified as the young man in the photographs, is described as having been a white male with wavy blonde hair and brown eyes, standing between 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 meters) and 6 feet (1.83 meters) tall, and weighing about 160 pounds (70 kilograms). Callahan, if he was alive, would have been 38 at the time. Callahan was not reported missing by his mother until 2015.

Lt. Joey Crosby, spokesman for Myrtle Beach police, stated that Callahan's mother failed to file a report with police due to the nomadic nature of Grateful Dead fans. "She attempted to report it when he went missing but didn’t know which jurisdiction to report it to," he said. Callahan's family also stated that they presumed he had gone to "live on his own, elsewhere."

After initial tests proved inconclusive, additional DNA testing confirmed that the body was indeed that of Jason Callahan.