Rock County John Doe

Discovery

The nearly complete skeleton was found by a hunting party at approximately 9:00 AM within private property alongside the creek, in a remote, densely wooded 100-acre area owned by the hunters. The skeleton was mostly complete and articulated, lying on its belly, with its hands over the head while the head and back were partially covered by a denim jacket. The body still wore age-fitting clothes on save for a shoe, and was located on a steep embankment, ten feet from the creek and four feet from the barbed wire fence of the property.

It was initially estimated that the deceased died by the fall or winter of 1994, about one year before he was found, but recent comparisons with modern forensic facility research suggests that he may have died by the summer of 1995, around five months before his discovery.

The cause of death is currently unknown, as no signs of trauma were found on the skeleton : a homicide is deemed unlikely, and no other causes could be determined. Analysis of his hair found no conclusive traces of cocaine, codeine or morphine, making it unlikely that he died from a drug overdose; however, this does not exclude the possibility that he was intoxicated or that he took hallucinogenic drugs before his death. It is commonly believed that he died from hypothermia from getting soaked in the creek, perhaps after getting intoxicated and disoriented as a result.

The skull was cremated while the rest of the skeleton was buried in Johnstown Center Cemetery, Rock County, Wisconsin. His DNA and dental records are available.

Physical description

The Caucasian male stood approximately 66'', or between 5 feet 4 inches or (1.65 m) and 5 feet 6 inches (1.70 m). His weight was estimated to be approximately 140 lb (64 kg). He was estimated to be between 17 and 20 years old. He seemed to have received good dental care with no presence of fillings, but still had wisdom teeth, with two partially erupted and one impacted.

The decedent wore a T-shirt with the trademarked logo of the heavy metal group “Venom” at the back, a golden five pointed star surrounded by a circle with a goat head at the center, with the caption "Welcome to hell" and " ©Venom 1987", grey urban camouflage fatigues of small/medium size, a denim lined flannel jacket of unsure color (either blue/maroon or red/green) with a plaid design, size medium/34 boxer underwear with a Bart Simpson design, and 1993 size 9-1/2 Black Nike Air Tennis Shoes. Only one of the bound sneakers were found at the site, lying near the skeleton.

The young man carried a distinctive pendant made from a bent dinner fork, shaped like the head of a goat. Other items found with the body were cigarettes butts, a Budweiser disposable butane lighter with the caption “proud to be your bud” printed on it, a tube of Carmex lip balm and an Aquatech watch.

His clothes, pendant and hair suggest that he was a metal aficionado and as such familiar with metal subculture, but investigations in the local metal circles did not bring conclusive results about his identity.

Several reconstructions were publicly released over time. The first reconstruction released by Project Edan in 2013 is currently considered to be inaccurate by authorities. The second reconstruction released in 2014 by the FBI is considered by official agencies as the most accurate to date, depicting him with collar long, dark feathery hair and high cheek bones. A third, colored and enhanced version of the first reconstruction was released to the public in February 2016 to help identification.

"River Guy"

Several witnesses report having seen a young man in his twenties wearing a similar set of clothes as the John Doe near the same area where the body was found on October 16 of 1994, around 5:30 PM. The man was seen rambling in the creek, visibly intoxicated and distraught. Dubbed "River Guy" by the local onlookers, he was reported by witnesses to have fallen in the water two or three times, trying to climb up the embankment and yelling at bystanders, telling them to get away from him. He also mentioned being wronged by a woman named Mary and being a fugitive. He was then seen sitting on the creek after his rambling. Contrary to the FBI reconstruction, "River Guy" facial composite show him as bearded.

It is commonly believed by agencies that River Guy and Rock County John Doe are the same person. However, this hypothesis is challenged by the recent forensic estimations that the John Doe may have died later than commonly believed, and as such his previously estimated time of death does not correspond with the approximate date of "River Guy" sightings.

The pendant

In 2010, the distinctive goat pendant was traced by the Rock County Sheriff's detective working on the case to a former Janesville craftsman active in the local metal scene, who claims to have made the pendant as well as sold or given similar items to a dozen people. However none of these people could be traced back as the John Doe.

Isotopic analysis

Isotopic analysis of the bones conducted in 2014 with the help of Smithsonian Institution scientists showed that the young man was from or had spent a significant amount of time in the Midwestern area, around the Great Lakes, which includes the states of Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota and Michigan. This, with the provenance of the goat pendant leads investigators to believe that the decedent was not living very far from where he was found.