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Open caseUnidentified person

The Man on State Road 11

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Status
Open case
Case type
Unidentified person
Location
Bunnell, FloridaFlagler County
Date
Investigating agency
Flagler County Sheriff's Office
Case number
80-580286FCSO cold case
Last checked

The story

In short: An open unidentified person case from Bunnell, Florida, May 28, 1980. Flagler County Sheriff's Office is the investigating agency (case no. 80-580286). Tips: Flagler County Sheriff's Office, 386-313-4911.

Our summary of the public record. The small numbers show where each fact comes from. Tap one to see the source.

On May 28, 1980, skeletal remains were found wrapped in carpet in a culvert beside State Road 11, roughly two miles outside Bunnell. Investigators determined the man was a homicide victim, but nothing found with him identified who he was, and he did not match any missing-person report from that era. More than 45 years later he still has no name.

The original examination described a young man, about 20 to 27 years old, around 5'6" to 5'7" and 145 to 150 pounds. In December 2022 the FCSO Cold Case Unit sent his remains to Othram for advanced DNA testing. Results returned in October 2023 indicated he was mostly of African ancestry with some European ancestry, and suggested his genetic relatives may come from the area around Flagler County.

Using that DNA information and the skull, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office Forensic Imaging Unit produced a craniofacial reconstruction, which FCSO released on November 28, 2023. Sheriff Rick Staly asked the public to help give him his name. The case is still open as #80-580286.

Timeline

What happened, in order.

  1. Skeletal remains wrapped in carpet are found in a culvert beside State Road 11 near Bunnell.23

  2. The FCSO Cold Case Unit sends the remains to Othram for DNA processing.34

  3. Othram reports ancestry results suggesting relatives may live in the area around Flagler County.3

  4. FCSO releases a craniofacial reconstruction made by the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office Forensic Imaging Unit.34

Key facts

What is known for sure. Each one is checked against a source.

  • FCSO cold case number 80-580286; listed as an unsolved homicide.2
  • Estimated 20 to 27 years old, about 5'6" to 5'7", 145 to 150 pounds.3
  • He did not match any known missing-person case from the time.3
  • FCSO's case page places the site about 2 miles west of Bunnell; news reports from 2023 describe it as about 2 miles south.24
  • DNA work by Othram pointed to possible relatives in the region around Flagler County.34

Still unanswered

What nobody knows yet.

  1. Did a young man stop being seen around Bunnell, Palm Coast or nearby counties in the late 1970s or 1980?
  2. Does anyone recognize the 2023 reconstruction?
  3. Could a DNA test by a relative help connect him to his family?

Photos & video

Official releases, public-domain and openly licensed files, credited. Tap a photo to see it larger.

View larger photo: Craniofacial reconstruction of the unidentified man found in 1980 (artist rendering)
Craniofacial reconstruction of the unidentified man found in 1980 (artist rendering)Reconstruction by the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office Forensic Imaging Unit, released by the Flagler County Sheriff's Office · Official release
View larger photo: FCSO Cold Case Unit case card for the 1980 unidentified male
FCSO Cold Case Unit case card for the 1980 unidentified maleFlagler County Sheriff's Office · Official release

Sources

Everything on this page comes from these 5 public sources. News coverage is linked, never copied.

Official records

  1. 1Cold Case (unsolved homicides and missing persons)Flagler County Sheriff's Office
  2. 21980 Unidentified Male (Cold Case #80-580286)Flagler County Sheriff's Office

News coverage

  1. 3Sheriff hopes new facial reconstruction of murder victim found near SR11 in 1980 may lead to identification (FCSO release)FlaglerLive, November 28, 2023
  2. 4Facial reconstruction released in 1980 Flagler County cold case homicideSpectrum News 13, November 28, 2023
  3. 5Who am I? Florida deputies hope new facial reconstruction solves 1980 cold caseWKMG News 6, November 28, 2023

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