NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Volunteers working to clean up a Nashville creek made a startling discovery, and the result has been an almost seven year mystery.
The group Hands On Nashville was cleaning up a portion of Browns Creek near the Nashville Fairgrounds on Oct. 6, 2016, when one of the volunteers found what appeared to be human remains.
Metro Police were immediately called to the scene near the Craighead Street bridge. They searched the entire creek and were able to find more remains that washed away. Detectives estimated the remains had been there for at least several months, and as long as a year.
They searched for other clues that would help them identify the victim but came up empty-handed. Police learned the victim was a white man between the ages of 40 and 66, and was between 5’4” and 6’ tall. However, they weren't able to determine his name or how he died. The victim has been known as the Browns Creek John Doe ever since.
"There was no identification found with the remains and the clothing was pretty well rotted away," said Matthew Filter, a detective in the Metro Nashville Police Department's Cold Case-Homicide/Missing Persons unit. "It's really hard to tell when you have nothing but skeletal remains to work with."
In an effort to get answers to their questions, Metro Police sent samples of the man's bones to a lab that specializes in genealogy research.
"A genealogist can look at that DNA, and start connecting and building a family tree for this unidentified person," said Filter.
The results produced possible family members, and now police plan to follow up with them in hopes of learning more about the victim.
They are also asking anyone who knows of a man who lived by, worked by or spent time in Browns Creek to reach out to them. This may help detectives identify him, as well.
Filter said once the victim is identified, police can start investigating how he died. Even though years have passed, they aren't giving up.
"It's great to be able to solve any of these cases, especially these that have been so cold for so many years," said Filter. "Family members are usually very appreciative of efforts we went through to get them identified because they have been looking for them for years."
Anyone with information about the man found in Browns Creek is asked to contact the Metro Police Department Cold Case Unit at 615-862-7329, or Crime Stoppers at 615-742-7463. Callers to Crime Stoppers can remain anonymous.
