Description

Partial skeletal remains discovered October 9, 1958, in a wooded area approximately 1/2 mile North of the Pennsylvania Turnpike's Midway Service Plazas, Bedford Township, Bedford County, Pennsylvania. Extensive camping equipment, personal supplies, high powered rifle and ammunition also found nearby. Most of the camping equipment appears to be newer and shows little or no indication of use; also, though apparently well equipped for camping, investigators found no eating utensils (silverware) or food supplies. One science-related and two poetry books found with the camping equipment suggests the victim may have benefited from higher education, or to have been a serious student of poetry or literature. There was an associated key that had been duplicated by Active Locksmiths, 195 Avenue A, New York, NY. But this was a locksmiths stamp and the unidentified person is NOT ASSOCIATED with the property at this address. Initial investigators felt certain the victim was not native to Bedford County, Pennsylvania. In 1958, investigators determined the rifle to have been shipped from the manufacturer to a store in Fort Wayne, Indiana. No further tracing of the rifle's ownership could be effected. Anecdotal information may connect this victim to the state of Kentucky: Prior to the victim's discovery, in September 1957, local police in Bedford Borough encountered a loitering man in possession of a rifle; this unidentified man said he was enroute from Kentucky to Canada. Anthropologic examinations conducted in 1959 and again in 2003 revealed the victim to have been an adult male of European ancestry, likely between the ages of 30-35 with a living stature of about 6'4" (+/- 2"). The death cannot be classified as natural. GPS data is approximate. There is no ME/C case number. The Pennsylvania State Police incident number is 2-C-3-55. Inquiries, please contact: Pennsylvania State Police, Attn: Criminal Investigation Unit, 171 Arthur L. Hershey Drive, Bedford, PA 15522, telephone 814-623-6133, **OR ** Pennsylvania State Police, Troop G Headquarters, Attn: Criminal Investigation Assessment Unit, 1510 North Juniata Street, Hollidaysburg, PA 16648, telephone 814-693-6100.