NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Contractors with the Nashville International Airport made a startling discovery in a wooded area in Donelson, and the result has been a more than 20 year mystery.
Crews discovered a human skull near Century Boulevard and Perimeter Place Drive and called Metro Police. When investigators and a team from the medical examiner's office arrived on Dec. 30, 2001, they recovered the skull and found multiple other bones scattered in the area.
There were also additional clues nearby. Police found a wallet containing an inactive Kroger Plus card, and a worn out photo of an unidentified female. There was no identification in the wallet.
"There was no evidence of a campsite, so we don’t know what he was doing out there," said Matthew Filter, a detective in the Metro Nashville Police Department's Cold Case-Homicide/Missing Persons unit. "We don't know the cause of death or if foul play was involved."
Filter said anthropologists later determined the bones belonged to a Native American man who was likely between 35 and 55 years old and was between 5'6'' and 6 feet tall. It was estimated the man died between late 1998 and the summer of 2001.
A forensic rendering was created showing what the man would have looked like when he was alive, but Metro Police didn't receive any tips from people who recognized him.
Now, investigators are turning to technology to help crack the case. Samples of the bones have been sent to a lab that specializes in forensic genetic genealogy. Detectives hope DNA will lead them to the man's family members, and ultimately help them determine his name and how he died.
"It's really been a blessing for law enforcement and medical examiners when it comes to identifying remains that have been unidentified for decades," said Filter.
While they wait for the results from the lab, Filter hopes someone will recognize the sketch of the man's face and come forward with information.
"You never know when the right person is going to see this information and recognize the forensic rendering and say that looks like someone I haven’t seen since 2000 or 1999," said Filter.
Anyone with information about the man found near Century Boulevard 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.
