Sheriffs Seek To ID Young Man Found Dead In 1996

TRABUCO CANYON, CA —Modern technology could help identify a young man found dead in mid-December of 1996. His remains were discovered in the Trabuco Creek Road wilderness area, and his identity has been a mystery for 22 years.

On Tuesday, the Orange County Coroner released the brand new renderings of the victim's face in hopes someone may recognize him, and give him a name. Authorities estimate he died sometime in 1995 or early 1996, and experts estimate his age to be between 14- to 25-years-old and about 5 feet 2 inches to 5 feet 8 inches tall. He was either a white or Hispanic male, with bad teeth, and possibly reddish or sandy-brown hair. But that doesn't tell John Doe 's story, explain how his remains ended up in Trabuco Canyon, or give him a name. Officials hope modern technology will render him recognizable. The mystery of the Trabuco Creek youth is one of 100 "John" or "Jane Doe" cases, Orange County officials hope to go back and solve.

"Over the years, there have been occasional leads to who he might be, yet he has not gotten his name back," said Supervising Orange County Deputy Coroner Kelly Keyes. "Sometimes seeing a picture can spark a memory, and that could lead to information. Now John Doe has a face. "We're looking to bring closure to his family," Keyes said.

Orange County Sheriff's Department Coroner Division is working in partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to learn the man's identity.

This is one of almost 100 "John" or "Jane Doe cases that the Orange County Sheriff's are trying to solve, department spokeswoman Carrie Braun said. This rendering is the best chance to spark a memory, experts say.

Now that he has a face, "we're looking to match that face to a name so we can bring closure to his family," Keyes said.

It has been a process to get to this point. It wasn't until 2003 that advances in DNA technology prompted the Coroner Division to submit John Doe's samples to the California Department of Justice.

A DNA profile was created, which confirmed John Doe as a male. Seven years later, in 2010, the Coroner Division partnered with the NCMEC in an attempt to generate leads that might deliver an identification. Still, he has languished, unidentified. Now, technology has caught up, and officers looked to forensic imagery to recreate a possible likeness of the unnamed victim.

In September, a computed tomography scan of the skull was created and submitted to NCMEC. Experts used the latest reconstruction techniques to develop renderings of the victim's likeness at the time of his death.

It is the best chance to learn his identity, Braun says.

"We continue to review these cases with the hope that John Doe will finally get a name," Keyes said."

Anyone who has any information about John Doe can contact the Orange County Coroner Division at 714-647-7000 or coroner@ocsd.org, reference case number 96-07901-MU.