‘Who am I?’ Florida deputies hope new facial reconstruction solves 1980 cold case

FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday released a new facial reconstruction photo of a 1980 cold case victim whose skeletal remains were found near a canal south of Bunnell.

The man’s remains were found on State Road 11, about 2 miles south of Bunnell, on May 28, 1980. The skeletal remains were that of a black man who was 20-27 years old, about 5 feet, 6 inches or 5 feet, 7 inches tall and weighed 145 to 150 pounds.

The sheriff’s office’s cold case unit in December 2022 sent the bones for DNA processing and learned the man was “mostly of African origin with a smaller percentage of European origin” and his family could be from areas around Flagler County.

“The Cold Case Unit then requested assistance from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Forensic Imaging Unit (PBCSO-FIU) to complete a craniofacial reconstruction. The PBCSO FIU interpreted the data from Othram and examined the skull to provide the reconstruction. The reconstruction is an interpretation of how the victim could have possibly looked and is not meant to serve as an exact depiction of the victim,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release.

Officials said the victim does not match any known missing persons cases from the same time period.

“Now we need the public’s help to tell us who he is. Someone knows him. Let’s give him a name so his family will know what happened,” Sheriff Rick Staly said in the release that was also posted to X with the headline, “Who Am I? New Facial Reconstruction of 1980 Cold Case Victim.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact FCSO Cold Case unit at SScalia@FlaglerSheriff.com or email TIPS@FlaglerSheriff.com. Tips may also be submitted anonymously through CrimeStoppers of Northeast Florida by calling 888-277-TIPS.

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