LOCATION WHERE FOUND: 200 Block of S. Lewis Blvd. near Highway 75 Sioux City, Iowa Woodbury County DATE FOUND: March 25, 1986 ESTIMATED DATE OF DEATH: March 24, 1986 STATUS: Unidentified CASE NUMBER: OC-86-35 SEX: Male RACE: White AGE: 40-49 WEIGHT: 145-155 lbs. HEIGHT: 5’6″ to 5’8″ HAIR COLOR: Unknown or completely bald EYE COLOR: Unknown BLOOD TYPE: A+ NAMUS-UP CASE NUMBER: 2621 CAUSE OF DEATH: Apparent suicide; burned body was found doused with gasoline. RESPONDING AGENCY: Sioux City Police Department (712) 279-6365 LOCAL CONTACT: Woodbury County Medical Examiner’s Office (712) 279-3226
Case Information
At approx. 9:42 a.m. on March 25, 1986, Sioux City Police responded to a report of a man down under a bridge of an abandoned river channel near Marx Trucking at 220 S. Lewis Blvd.
Marx employees had observed smoke and a noxious odor coming from the area the day before at approximately 5 p.m. Investigators located the body of man — believed to be between 40-50 years of age — burned beyond recognition, with a gas can located between the victim’s legs.
The subject wore white cotton gloves, a brown western shirt, blue jeans, blue cotton socks and tan western boots.
The decedent’s possessions also included a tube of contact cement.
The death is believed to have been caused by thermal injuries suffered during an act of self-immolation (setting one’s self on fire). The body was found doused with gasoline. The decedent’s blood type was determined to be A+.
The Sioux City Police did obtain dental records from the victim’s teeth, which have been compared to numerous missing persons across the country.
As of this date, the subject’s identity is unknown and the case remains open.
Information Needed
If you have any information about this unsolved case please contact the Woodbury County Medical Examiner’s Office at (712) 279-3226 or John Kraemer, PA, of the Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner at (515) 725-1400. You may also contact the Sioux City Police Department at (712) 279-6390.
There is only one male in the doe network that fits the timeline of this one, and they lived about 90 minutes away at the time and on the date, but the physical statistics are too far apart. I’m guessing that since the clothes could be described, the body wasn’t burned far enough to reduce it this much. Looks like the one was found on the morning the other went missing, so, mech, that doesn’t match up either unfortunatly. https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/5510dmne.html
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There is only one male in the doe network that fits the timeline of this one, and they lived about 90 minutes away at the time and on the date, but the physical statistics are too far apart. I’m guessing that since the clothes could be described, the body wasn’t burned far enough to reduce it this much. Looks like the one was found on the morning the other went missing, so, mech, that doesn’t match up either unfortunatly. https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/5510dmne.html