The Lost and the Found

http://unidentified.wikia.com/wiki/Henry_County_John_Doe_(2003)



 Case

On October 2nd, 2003 Detectives Jerry Cason and Frank Hittel of the Indianapolis Police Department were escorting a prisoner around Henry County, in an attempt to gain information about crimes he had committed. The prisoner asked to use the restroom and the detectives pulled into an abandoned gas station located off I-70 on Indiana Route 109, where as they were taking a break, one of the individuals discovered a deceased male lying in the back of the gas station.

The deceased had been shot in the head and that he had only been at this location for less than 24 hours. An autopsy was performed in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Shortly after, his photo was taken in attempts to identify him through the media but to know avail. The detectives who had found the body surrendered their service weapons to Henry County officials, as protocol to ensure the officers were not involved in the murder.

The man was described as a Hispanic male (though an earlier newspaper report identified him as a black male), between the ages of 17-30, about 5'2 and weighed roughly 108 pounds. His jaw had been wired shut and his teeth showed evidence of old brace brackets from previous orthodontic work. He also had a small mole on his upper right shoulder and one on his lower back.
Clothing and accessories

The John Doe was found wearing:

    A blue "Malone USA" sweatshirt
    Brown work pants with "UConn" warm-up sweatpants over the pants
    White Reebok Sneakers
    White socks
    White Duke Baseball Cap

Investigation

Sometime after the discovery, investigators found out that this John Doe may have had a connection with the city of Reynoldsburg, Ohio; as he was seen two days before his discovery at the local Walmart making a purchase. Additionally, he was seen driving a red car. Investigators have not speculated what kind of car he was driving, nor any proof that he was at the Walmart.

NCMEC took on the case in 2012, and provided the above information to their bulletin as well as an updated reconstruction of the victim. Prior to this, only a postmortem photograph was available for identification purposes.

https://www.theindychannel.com/news/police-stumped-in-identifying-slain-man

Police Stumped In Identifying Slain Man

Henry County sheriff's investigators are seeking the public's help in trying to identify a man found dead outside an abandoned building near Knightstown last week.

Two police officers found the body Thursday near Indiana 109 and Interstate 70.

Police said the victim (pictured, left), a Hispanic male, appeared to be between 17 and 22 years old. He was 5 feet 2 inches tall and 108 pounds. Police said his jaw was wired shut, most likely from extensive dental work.

The man died of a gunshot wound to the head at close range, police said. In order to generate some leads in the case, investigators are taking the unusual step of releasing a photo of taken of the victim's corpse, RTV6's Vince Robinson reported.

Henry County Sheriff Kim Cronk said that while it is a regrettable way for friends or family to see a loved one, they had no other alternative in trying to find the victim's killer.

"Basically, at this point, we have to turn to the public to try to assist us to identify the individual because we have no leads on who may have shot this person," Cronk said.

"We feel that once we make the identification, hopefully we can come up with some leads. At least we'll know who the person runs with, and what associations he's had."

Investigators are sending the man's fingerprints to an FBI lab for processing.

The guns have been taken from the two undercover Indianapolis police officers who found the victim. Ballistics tests will be conducted later this week, Robinson reported, but investigators said the officers are not suspects.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Henry County Sheriff's Department at (765) 529-4901.

John Doe's body was found south of Interstate 70 near Knightsville, Indiana. He was seen alive in a Walmart in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, two days before his murder.

https://fox59.com/news/indycrime/man-found-shot-to-death-in-henry-county-identified-two-decades-later/

Man found shot to death in Henry County identified two decades later

HENRY COUNTY, Ind. (FOX59) — After nearly two decades of being a John Doe, a man who was found shot to death behind an abandoned gas station in 2003 finally has a name.

The Henry County Coroner’s office identified the man as Daniel Diaz of Columbus, Ohio. Coroner Stacey Guffey said the FBI got a hit on the fingerprints that were sent to them shortly after the body was found.

“They did have the fingerprints from our victim on a previous arrest and that’s how they were able to compare what was sent in from our county,” Guffey said.

Diaz was initially found by two undercover Indianapolis police officers who were on a ride through Henry County with an informant, according to the FOX59 archive. The officers stopped to use the restroom at the abandoned gas station along State Road 109 just south of I-70 when they found the body.

“He was wearing sweatpants, tennis shoes, a blue sweatshirt and a white hat,” a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office said at the time. “Also the individual has his jaw wired shut.”

Investigators at the time hoped to identify the man by his extensive dental work, according to FOX59 archives. Clues at the scene pointed toward a gruesome death.

“It appears that he was grasping at some of the grass around the area possibly after he was shot,” the sheriff’s office said in 2003.

Investigators eventually released photos of the victim to see if anyone could identify him. However, years went by and the man’s identity remained a mystery.

“Unfortunately there was just limited information on the victim,” Guffey said. “And so, everything just kind of came to a halt.”

Guffey made it his mission to identify the man when he became coroner in 2005. The county sent the man’s fingerprints and DNA to federal agencies but got nothing. That is until Guffey received an email from the FBI in February 2022 telling him they matched Diaz’s prints that they obtained from a local police agency.

Guffey tracked down Diaz’s family and let them know he had their son.

“Father, mother and sister all basically said that they felt like he just kind of went his own way and that he didn’t want to have a relationship with them,” Guffey said. “They were very distraught, very emotional, crying and very upset. But also it seemed like they were good with the fact that he just didn’t write them off.”

Diaz was buried in a cemetery in Lewisville, Indiana. At the time, the community came together and, with donations from people and local businesses, were able to give him a headstone, which reads “here lays a young man that only God knows.”

The coroner said there are plans to add his name and birthdate. His family decided to leave him buried in Henry County and they hope to visit later this year.

Even though it’s been nearly two decades, Guffey said the search for his killer will continue.

“Regardless if you know them or not there’s always a suspect,” Guffey said. “We just may not know them right now. But that could change.”

Anyone who has any information on this crime should contact the Henry County Sheriff’s Office at (765) 529-5669.