High crime, junkies, just Ashley flowers here to bring you a very special midweek episode. Didn't see that coming. Did you well I'm here, because I got a very special requests from the Flathead County sheriff's office out in Montana. They have an open cold case of a John DOE that they have been working tirelessly just saw But before they can determine how or why this person died, they have to know who he is. They have enlisted the help of the Deal dough project and you guys know we love the dna dough project and they have gotten so close to the finish line. But the sheriff's office needs your help, because you out there listening right now, they believe you could hold the final key to solving this mystery. So listen close to the story of flat

County John DOE accords. The farmers almanac late October. Two thousand three was cold and flat had county Montana is time for hunting, though, and two hunters were taking advantage of the good conditions they were walking at the top of a cliff near a wooded area when they spot something it's a test, nylon bad, they

at each other and sighed, decide realising that no one seemed to be around as far as they could see, and it didn't seem like the kind of bad Another hunter would just led out here so decide to take a peep inside one of the hunters finds a twenty two caliber pistol and me by there's a butterfly knife and a nickel and the strange yes, but honestly to to do it's out there. That day, it didn't mean much. However, one of the hunters told his wife about his findings when he got home and I have tabled that she was a crime junkie based on her response, because she tells him maybe go back out there and see if there's anything else like you found this at the top of a cliff, and no one around like think about that honey. Top of the cliff you gotta go check the bottom of the cliff, so the guy goes back on October, twenty six and sure enough wife. He was right there at the bottom of the cliff. Among brush was a human

school next to it. He also saw a ten issue: a war, bottle, and a small pack rats nest near by he decided to look through the ass to see if there was anything else identifiable and he found sunglasses, marijuana, pipe and a collection of other ray the items it's at this point. The hunter calls the sheriff's office to report. The findings now what's interesting, is that the sheriffs teen can't just jump in their cars and get their right away and here's what It seems that while you can get to this area by foot as proven by the hunter, you can actually get thereby vehicle unless you have a key because this area, where the remains were found, is this the area of the data road. So the sheriff's office had to call efficient wildlife officer to come meet them at the gate with a key, so they could drive back there, and this might not seem like a big and maybe I'm reading into too much. But I think it's worth noting

because it means that our John DOE probably got back there by foot and he didn't in that area by any sort of vehicle. The share of who responded, waits for detectives to arrive who take over the scene and a crime scene. Specialist joins them to collect this all other bones scattered around near by and items that were found as well, and then all of it is sent off for processing. Investigators, try to glean information from the scene itself, but it was heart just by the condition the remains and items left behind. It was clear that they had been there for a long time and the bones themselves. Had been so spread apart by animals that it was impossible to even to turn where the initial crime scene was, while most of the Bones were scattered. On the base of the cliff, there was a single classical bone founded the top, which could potentially indicate that's where Whatever happened to this man took place

I remember my research for the Mai Treaty, Richardson Taste, that there was one expert who I believe said that animals don't usually move things up to higher ground, they would take something. Like human remains and move them down, and I don't know that's the case here and who neither do the investigators all they could do was used the skull as marker and then fan out one to two hundred yards in every direction. Looking for clues, in addition to all the items bound by the hunter, they also find additional coins. Bottle of a leave and a handheld poker game, the most ITALY data coin was from nineteen ninety. So at least window is narrowing. A bit we went from this could have happened at any point to well. It could happened at any point after nineteen ninety, but using others at the scene they narrow it down even further with India. He's, while they're still waiting for a forensic SAM to come back and tell them more about their victim. The detective does some late

work to try and narrow down this window. Even further he gets his great idea to call the elite customer hotline who were able to tell him more about that particular bottle that they found at the scene. They say that leave was first distributed over counter in June of nineteen, ninety four and back then leave was made by Procter and Gamble, but in January a faint t. Ninety seven Bayer took over distribution and when they took over the style of the bottle. That was previously used changed. So look, what they had the bottle in their possession that was at this scene matched the kind that Procter and gamble used to produce, meaning are thirteen, your window just shrunk to two and a half years, some time between June nineteen. Ninety four January, nineteen. Ninety seven on TWAIN night, just three days after the skull, was discovered and evidence technician

We did the same thing with the Adidas shoe found at the scene. They were able to give Adidas the dust. Repression of the shoe, along with some numbers that appeared on the issue, and the Tec was told that she was manufactured in May of nineteen. Ninety. By making our window even smaller, but the biggest clue of all was that gun were at least it should have been. But detectives are about to find out this case. That seems like they're moving so quickly on is about to have its first dead end, and it would be a sign of what's to come. This episode is made possible by spotlight oral pair, the widening system for teeth people. Like me, I said it before I'm ups. Asked with tee. It's the first thing I notice I ask where questions about people's history did ya. Braces. Are those veneered? A good smile is better than any amount of cosmetic work

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first few days of the investigation detectives are able to track down the purchase history of the weapon and they find in January of nineteen, ninety four, it was purchased by a man in Sandy. You talk, but when police look into this guy he is alive and well that skull at the base of the cliff clearly doesn't belong to him, but really. There must be some connection, so investigators contact this guy to see why his was it with him and how it could have been that it was found near the set of remains to states away. The man's response was simple. He said he had sold all of his fire arms. Tween March and June of nineteen ninety four so essentially two to six months after purchasing it he's decided to sell it, and he has no idea what happened to it after that Islam. My first question like probable. Yours is well who, Did he sell it to, and the answer is underwhelming. He says he doesn't recall, but most

likely it would have been one of two different gun stores so with the gun. Turning into somewhat of a dead end investigators focus back in on the bones, hoping that they would tell them something about their victim, They brought in the University of Montana Anthropology Department and they made several more trips back out to the sea and each time they were find more and more bones, and more and more clues on one particular trip in April two thousand, for they also found pages of a book which they determined to be phases of gravity by Dan. The book was published in eighty nine ninety and then re released into thousand one. So while it, help narrow down our timeline anymore. It at least told investigators and you

listening something about this man. Potentially, he was reading phases of gravity by Dan Simmons when he died. When the anthropology teen gets back to the detectives in November, it seems to be yet another dead end. The bones are old, they'd likely been there for a few years before being found, and all they can tell deputies is that their victim is a white male between twenty one and thirty six, but more likely may twenties and he was approximately five eight. The biggest blow of all is that no manner or cause of death could be determined by looking at his remains now. If your crime And brain is at all like mine, the first time I read the info on this case. I was viewing every think, through the lens of looking to solve a murder, there remains a gun with a mysterious purchase history, everything so

reamed mystery, but they couldn't determine how he died and the truth is: this might not be a murder at all be an accident or even suicide. But, like I said at the beginning, we can't know how or why he died until we know who he is, and until a family finally understand where their loved one has been for so many years every one was hopeful. Early days that the dental records would be their key to match their guy had about eight moulders and some had feeling, so it felt really distinct like distinctive enough that it they could match it to a missing persons report like they have their guy, but time and time again they find someone who seemed like a good match, but it was never him, and so the case when cold police records. It appears that the case gets another really close. Look in my two thousand and eleven two thousand and twelve, and I dont know

for sure. But I assume that the flat had county sheriff's office works like a lot of smaller department, there's no dedicated cold case staff. You work cases in between other duties, which is why it so dry I doubt in these cold cases can go on for so many years, but here is where a couple of interesting things happen, while at least interesting to me, the detective now in charge of the case decides to go out to the scene, one more time likely just to get like a better sense for the area I mean this is important you're taking on a new case when he gets to the scene. His report says quote: I note someone has been in the area and placed a white painted metal cross on the top of the cliff marking the area where the deceit it was located. End quote to this day. They still don't know who placed that cross. There was at a local who was here

did by the story of this young man left without a name or perhaps someone with something to atone for, in addition to the cross. The detectives also noticed another pack. Rats nest and inside were more human bones even all the years later now, while they were determined to be human bones, the sheriff's office said that quote: dna testing was not an option and but they did tell me, however, that there is no indication of a second victim in the area of the assumption is, and has always been, that they likely belonged their original John DOE, the other end, thinking that happens in two thousand and eleven is its. That now years later, someone actually follows up on the gun owner story and they interact down the two stores that this guy says. You know. Maybe I sold my gun there

in the limited information was provided. It looked like this is the first time that someone had checked into this guy story to verify it with the gunshot owners and when I asked I had county sheriff's office it that was correct. The answer I got was that the retired detective didn't recall now you could get buried in this detail about what was done and when what assumptions were made, who made them I've gotten Austin all those questions, but really I don't have all the info, and we just are where we are now so, both at the gunshot nor say in two thousand and eleven- that they have no record of that gun ever coming into their inventory, and it's not from what I can tell that the records are just too old or they don't have them. It's. My understanding they kept good records, but they never purchase that gun, meaning that that gun was never sold to them so now in two thousand and eleven detectives go back to this guy in Sandy Utah, who how says? Well, you know I mean

pond, it may be said of selling the gun store. I probably pond at some time in ninety four. Ninety five he added more detail, saying that he was actually going through a divorce at the time and needed some cash and listen. I don't love it. It seems like you'd, remember being the middle of a divorce and being hard for cash even more clearly when it was actually happening instead of years later. But when I asked had county sheriffs, if this man was considered a suspect in any way, they said quote the regional gun owner was cleared at the time of the initial investigation, but like with any castigation, it must remain fluid, should any new evidence arise. I spoke to him again after I found the owns- and there was no reason to consider him a suspect at the time he did right and name and location of the Pawn shop he sold the gun to the shop was contacted and was very cooperative, but was unable to provide any new information end quote so without any new information. Even this late,

work in two thousand Levin, two dozen twelve didn't get them any closer to a neat. And the name is what they need to move this case forward. As you all know, we are now in the season of justice, so when all doors seemed closed before We now have a window. The flat had county sheriffs, office has been working with the DNA dough project in order to you genealogy to figure out who are John DOE is based, at this time their main goal and focus is to identify his name who he is and once that happens, investigators can term. What direction to go in from their so, whatever kind of case we're talking about murder, suicide, accident. It doesn't matter yet because it doesn't change the fact that we need his name. He was a young man who belong to someone. He was someone son, someone's friend, maybe a brother. Now

much as we hoped genealogy is the end all be all. It is only as good as the database. They have to cross reference where the DNA Dough profit has taken on this case and they have been working on it for well over a year close to two at this point, and they so close to the finish line, but this is where they your help when they compared those dna to ancestral databases, the closest match that they got was actually pretty far away there. What do and a dough project called low matches. So we're talking like a fool cousin, and I don't know about you, but I couldn't even name a single fourth cousin, for you much less know anything about their daily lives. So, as you can magic. When you get that far out in a family tree, you aren't dealing with a single last name: People Mary divorce, remarry die genealogy can be messy So just keep that in mind, as I tell you what we know based

his dna. The dna dough project believes that, even though was found in Montana his family lineage could be linked back to one of Levin family names in one of three different counties he potentially be related to family members or ancestors from Harlin County Kentucky. With the last names sailor, Hilton Brok or Blandin for he could potentially be related to family members or ancestors from Montgomery many Indiana with the last names war, or Lynn or bear it, and a third possibility is that he potentially be related to family members or ancestors from Hancock County Tennessee. With the last named green at person, seals or Trent, I'm going to put. The counties and spellings of those last names in the show notes and on our blog posts, on the website. We have a huge crimes,

the audience here in the MID West, who might recognize one of those names, but it's important to hear this, even if you're, not local, because this guy was clearly out of state, at least at some point and just because his board in or great great grandmother lead in. One of those areas with one of those last names doesn't mean he did. Is there someone you knew in the Eightys and Ninetys who, after eighteen, ninety five- you haven't heard from since no matter- we are there from no matter what their last name is: family, member or friend, or even a store. You heard from a family member about maybe one of their debts, cousins who ran away or no one heard from again, he was white male, who would have been between twenty one and thirty. Six, though, if you're thinking if someone who's a little bit outside of that range, don't talk yourself out of it. A recent poster me for this case lit his age range as potentially being as broad as eighteen to forty two. He was around five seven

or fight eight. He wore a size, eleven Adidas tennis issue. He carried a handheld poker game with him and he might have read phase of gravity by Dan Simmons. We also know that he was in possession of a Smith and Wesson Pistol with an uncle MIKE Sidekick Black nylon holster, which those of you who aren't familiar guns. Like me, Uncle MIKE is a brand on getting engraving or anything. The anthropology team who consulted on this case did a facial reconstruct. And from that school to show what our John DOE might have looked like, and you can find that honour, Instagram at crime, junkie, podcast or on the blog on our website. Crime, junkie, podcast, dot com- and I cannot stress this enough. Please dont limit your thinking just to people who have been reported, Miss dont say well, I don't know of any people my life who have a missing loved one, because if you re need a lot of the success stories on the dna dough projects website many

then share something similar. They worked reported missing. Their family often thought that they ran away or left to start a new life. So please keep your thinking broad and if you have absolutely any information, big or small call the flat had county sheriff's office at four zero, six, seven five five five, eight five, if you want, the facial reconstruction for the flat had county John DOE. You can find it on our website. Crime, junkie, podcast, dotcom, all information and fax for this episode were generously provided by the flat had county sheriff's office and the deep they don't project, I will see all of you cry

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