Unidentified: 'He’s somebody’s kid or grandkid or cousin or boyfriend’

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - A tragic death of a young man from 1975 has left a lot of questions.

His name and story are still unknown more than 40 years later.

Investigator Sara Goldenberg continues our new series Unidentified.

The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office has more than 50 cases of unidentified bodies, and this man is one of them.

19 Investigates is profiling several cases.

This case has very few clues for investigators, but they hope a crystal clear picture of the man will spark someone’s memory.

He was about 20 years old when he was found dead on the east bank of the Cuyahoga River by Merwin Avenue near the Center Street Bridge in the Flats.

Investigators believe it was likely suicide, and he jumped to his death one spring day in 1975.

“He’s somebody’s kid or grandkid or cousin or boyfriend. If you think about what was going on in the 70s, maybe he had a breakup or lost a job, or maybe he got back from the military,” said Anjie Fischer with the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office.

She is just getting started on this case.

They have no DNA profile for this man, and no clothing, tattoos or piercings that could help identify him.

“He was 5′10” and weighed about 165 pounds," Fischer said.

Fischer hopes the post-mortem photo, which has been touched up, will help someone recognize him.

“His teeth are a little crooked in the front and his nose is a little crooked. But maybe this looks like someone you know or knew. Haven’t thought about this person for awhile, you may have a name for us. Please call. If you have a name, that begins our search,” she said.

If he looks familiar, Fischer urges you to give them a call.

“Give us a lead, that’s it. You don’t have to be right. Off your plate onto ours,” she said.

Her job is not to investigate why people like this man died, but who they were.

And to bring answers to their families.

“All of our abilities are exhausted at this point. And it’s frustrating because these men are somebody’s sons or husbands and dads. And the same with the women, it’s somebody’s moms or daughters. And so it would be nice to give them a name regardless of how they passed,” she said.

You can learn more about his case on NamUs here.

If he looks familiar, call the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office at 216-721-5610 and select 1, then ask for the Investigations Department.

You can watch the entire Unidentified series on our Apple TV, Roku, Amazon and mobile apps.

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