The Denver Office of the Medical Examiner found itself in an unusual predicament: A man’s body, discovered near Colfax Avenue and Federal Boulevard in the summer of 2016 months after he had died, remains unidentified two-and-a-half years later.
That’s not something that happens often, said Steven Castro, spokesman for the coroner’s office, said in an interview.
When medical examiners first inspected the body, which was found outdoors on Aug. 3, 2016, near the 1400 block of Grove Street, it was too decomposed to identify through traditional methods of fingerprinting and DNA analysis.
No family members or friends of the man, who was transient, came forward, and representatives of local homeless coalitions and outreach centers in the area didn’t know who he was. Officials at local hospitals couldn’t identify him, either.
“We exhausted all of our leads,” Castro said. “We don’t have a lot on this case.”
So, in 2018, the office tried something for the first time: forensic sketching based on skeletal remains. The process took six months.
On Wednesday, the Office of the Medical Examiner released the sketches of what the man is thought to have looked like, asking the public for help identifying the man who would often be seen in the area of Colfax and Federal in the summer of 2016.
He is described in the news release as a white male, between 45 and 60 years old, and about 5-foot-10-inches tall, with a possibly “hunched posture.” The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System said he had gray or partially gray hair. And he had surgical hardware in his jaw and hand, the coroner’s office said.
Castro said there was no evidence of anything suspicious in the death.
“The team at the Office of the Medical Examiner strives to identify every decedent who comes into our care. We understand and value the need for closure when dealing with losing a family member or friend, and we believe that everyone is connected to someone, somewhere who cares about them,” Castro said in the news release.
If no one comes forward to identify the man, Castro said the medical examiner’s office will perform a burial.
Anyone with information about the man’s identity is asked to call 720-337-7601.
Journalism doesn’t grow on trees. Please support The Denver Post.
.
