GA ATLANTA JOHN DOE: WM, 20-30, found on the side of I 75 in Atlanta, GA - 20 Jul 1995 *STEVEN SHELTON*

178UMGA - Unidentified Male​


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Reconstructions of the victim by Marla Lawson and Wes Neville; victim's tattoos.

Date of Discovery: July 20, 1995
Location of Discovery: Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia
Date of Death: June 24, 1996
State of Remains: Recognizable face
Cause of Death: Hit and run vehicle accident

Physical Description​

Estimated Age: 20-30 years old
Race: White
Sex: Male
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 85 lbs. (after hospitalization)
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Light brown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: A serpent or dragon on the chest and stomach. The word "Virgo" in blue on the left shoulder. A red and blue flaming Star or planet in the web between the thumb and index finger. A globe surrounded by letters on the left forearm. The tattoos were somewhat recent.

Identifiers​

Dentals: Unknown.
Fingerprints: Unknown.
DNA: Available.

Clothing & Personal Items​

Clothing: Unknown.
Jewelry: Unknown.
Additional Personal Items: Unknown.

Circumstances of Discovery​

Atlanta police picked up the unidentified man on the side of Interstate 75 late at night on July 20, 1995, and took him to Grady Hospital with severe head injuries. He was hospitalized for almost one year and died in the hospital on June 24, 1996.

Investigating Agency(s)​

Agency Name: Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office
Agency Contact Person: Dumonder Dawson
Agency Phone Number: 404-613-4400
Agency E-Mail: fcme(at)co.fulton.ga.us
Agency Case Number: 96-1115

NCIC Case Number: U194513653
NamUs Case Number: 691

Information Source(s)​

NamUs
FCMEO
Georgia Bureau of Investigation
Maryland Missing
 
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Cousin Dupree said:
My biggest problem is that the cop pictures show him with glasses from a young age to where he'd be if he were still alive. Your picture doesn't show him wearing glasses.
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it only said that he "might" have been wearing glasses or contacts. the description and details said his vision was far from good, but he could manage without him. he wasnt found with glasses on, but we have to consider the fact that he was hit by a car. that might have been a result of him not having his glasses or astigmatism. also- the unidentified man was stripped of all clothing and belongings when he was taken to the hospital so there's no guarantee that he wasnt wearing glasses.
 
Cousin Dupree said:
My biggest problem is that the cop pictures show him with glasses from a young age to where he'd be if he were still alive. Your picture doesn't show him wearing glasses.
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I'd have to look back but I looked at some today but wasn't specifically looking for glasses but I am almost positive they were mentioned in his autopsy or missing thing or something. Of the Doe. and the MN guy it details glasses.
 
ariel said:
it only said that he "might" have been wearing glasses or contacts. the description and details said his vision was far from good, but he could manage without him. he wasnt found with glasses on, but we have to consider the fact that he was hit by a car. that might have been a result of him not having his glasses or astigmatism. also- the unidentified man was stripped of all clothing and belongings when he was taken to the hospital so there's no guarantee that he wasnt wearing glasses.
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There is also a five year gap here meaning he may have long since lost his glasses, not had money for any, etc. from time he went missing to time hit biy car.
 
GrandmaBear said:
I'd have to look back but I looked at some today but wasn't specifically looking for glasses but I am almost positive they were mentioned in his autopsy or missing thing or something. Of the Doe. and the MN guy it details glasses.
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on my UID i dont think it said anything about glasses. he might have worn them but then again glasses are expensive and this is America.
 
ariel said:
oh, yes, btw, i made some calls! they are taking me seriously and Eagan PD sounded rather excited about a possible match. there might be a whole city wondering what happened to him. its mind-boggling but in the most amazing way possible.
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I could have sworn I saw something about glasses but been a busy day and I just tried to pop in here to talk with you and saw some old posts like the autopsy etc. Thought I saw something about lenses. Probably confused it with the Eagan case links.

Wow. I thought they might take it serious. Reading the case and about the parents, police, etc. it seemed to be big and that the parents cared a lot. Eagan would probably LOVE to give them answers and solve this. I pray you and they do not end up deflated and this is THEIR guy and YOUR guy.
 
GrandmaBear said:
Kudos to you @ariel . I hope this is it! And all due to your diligence and passion!
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thank you all so much! its been so long of me scrolling through networks, finding false matches, collecting information, and waiting for news that doesn't come back. i would have kept going for years and years gladly, but i am so excited that he could be right here with a family who loves him and a network whos been trying to bring him home. ill be doing this forever.
 
GrandmaBear said:
I could have sworn I saw something about glasses but been a busy day and I just tried to pop in here to talk with you and saw some old posts like the autopsy etc. Thought I saw something about lenses. Probably confused it with the Eagan case links.

Wow. I thought they might take it serious. Reading the case and about the parents, police, etc. it seemed to be big and that the parents cared a lot. Eagan would probably LOVE to give them answers and solve this. I pray you and they do not end up deflated and this is THEIR guy and YOUR guy.
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let me go back and look. id be damned if ive missed the fact that he wore lenses this whole time lol. but then again, i just realized yesterday that his tattoo didnt say "virgo" and he was in fact not a virgo at all🤷‍♀️
 
ariel said:
let me go back and look. id be damned if ive missed the fact that he wore lenses this whole time lol. but then again, i just realized yesterday that his tattoo didnt say "virgo" and he was in fact not a virgo at all🤷‍♀️
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I'm sure I'm the one likely mistaken lol. You have lived and breathed this case, not I. :)
 
Did they say at all they'd get back to you or let you know what they find out? I sure hope so. For your sake and our too lol. I want to know too!

So what first clued you in on this Christopher and how did you first come across him?
 
GrandmaBear said:
Did they say at all they'd get back to you or let you know what they find out? I sure hope so. For your sake and our too lol. I want to know too!

So what first clued you in on this Christopher and how did you first come across him?
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yes! they told me that they would call me up today so we could talk about it. honestly, i scroll through the doe network and NamUs every single day for hours. i pretty much search up very detailed keywords with the word "missing male" in front of them. you wouldnt believe the terms that ive used over the years. its taken so long because the doe network is absolutely endless. just yesterday after a hiatus i found kerze. i pretty immediately and very distinctly recognized him. ive been born, ive had birthdays, i was proposed to by my fiance 2 months ago, and saw my family after months or years without seeing them but finding identifying my doe was probably the best day of my life.
 
ariel said:
yes! they told me that they would call me up today so we could talk about it. honestly, i scroll through the doe network and NamUs every single day for hours. i pretty much search up very detailed keywords with the word "missing male" in front of them. you wouldnt believe the terms that ive used over the years. its taken so long because the doe network is absolutely endless. just yesterday after a hiatus i found kerze. i pretty immediately and very distinctly recognized him. ive been born, ive had birthdays, i was proposed to by my fiance 2 months ago, and saw my family after months or years without seeing them but finding identifying my doe was probably the best day of my life.
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If this is a match, it is something you will never forget doing, the excitement of doing and always take pride in giving him a name and giving a family answers. I can see why it would be the best day of your life to date.

I think I was wrong about the glasses most likely. Both cases have DNA too don't they? So getting a certain match should be doable.

I can't wait to hear about what more you and Eagan authorities find out and hear about your talks with them. It is exciting for us too lol.

One would think authorities and family have been searching the Doe Network and Namus too but if it is as vast as you say and all details aren't always there, I'm sure it isn't probably that easy.
 
GrandmaBear said:
If this is a match, it is something you will never forget doing, the excitement of doing and always take pride in giving him a name and giving a family answers. I can see why it would be the best day of your life to date.

I think I was wrong about the glasses most likely. Both cases have DNA too don't they? So getting a certain match should be doable.

I can't wait to hear about what more you and Eagan authorities find out and hear about your talks with them. It is exciting for us too lol.

One would think authorities and family have been searching the Doe Network and Namus too but if it is as vast as you say and all details aren't always there, I'm sure it isn't probably that easy.
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they both have DNA! hopefully, if the family is notified they can look at the photos and identify their son to conserve time and money but if they have to do testing first then I'm just as over the moon. but to do testing im pretty sure they legally have to let them know because its their kid. if you take a look through the doe network it just never ends, unfortunately. they also have new cases coming in constantly. same thing with NamUs. while they have other things to work on i live this case and spend most of my time searching. ive had people tell me nobody theres no point in searching for a homeless mans missing persons report that probably didn't exist but I wasn't willing to give up that easily. i mean, I wasn't willing to give up at all. i never have been. every since the moment i read the unidentified person report a year or two back i haven't stopped or slept.
 
ariel said:
they both have DNA! hopefully, if the family is notified they can look at the photos and identify their son to conserve time and money but if they have to do testing first then I'm just as over the moon. but to do testing im pretty sure they legally have to let them know because its their kid. if you take a look through the doe network it just never ends, unfortunately. they also have new cases coming in constantly. same thing with NamUs. while they have other things to work on i live this case and spend most of my time searching. ive had people tell me nobody theres no point in searching for a homeless mans missing persons report that probably didn't exist but I wasn't willing to give up that easily. i mean, I wasn't willing to give up at all. i never have been. every since the moment i read the unidentified person report a year or two back i haven't stopped or slept.
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if this is a match, he lived a 21-year-old life. it was short and most likely painful, but it means the world to me and his family for him to be identified. i just cant wait for closure. i didnt know him, i just know plenty about him but i care just as much. thats the beauty of this job. you get to care for people even if you have no idea who they are.
 
ariel said:
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If that hospital and LE didn't screw up his DNA like they botched everything else. I did think of this that if there was DNA of both that it has been run automatically when anyone is entered but that is if agencies on both ends did things right AND entered it.

I would maybe follow up and just say how they had the wrong name for this Doe early on and that other things were questionable and just ask them to look into it thoroughly and then dismiss if certain not a match or something like that. Politely of course. I don't know what all you shared with them but the Atlanta end with this Doe made some major screwups or so it seems that affected his being identified or even surviving for that matter.
 
GrandmaBear said:
If that hospital and LE didn't screw up his DNA like they botched everything else. I did think of this that if there was DNA of both that it has been run automatically when anyone is entered but that is if agencies on both ends did things right AND entered it.

I would maybe follow up and just say how they had the wrong name for this Doe early on and that other things were questionable and just ask them to look into it thoroughly and then dismiss if certain not a match or something like that. Politely of course. I don't know what all you shared with them but the Atlanta end with this Doe made some major screwups or so it seems that affected his being identified or even surviving for that matter.
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im glad to help. i always have been. but if LE would have just done their job my life would have been so much easier. ive loved working on this case. ive lived and breathed it, but its been hard. its given me purpose but has also taken out chunks of my heart every day. every time i see that post-mortem photo some light leaves me, so ive always resented LE for botching the whole investigation. they did our doe wrong, they did his family wrong and they did me wrong.

i sent them links that mentioned how they had tentatively identified the man but they were most likely incorrect. every single link we have ever mentioned on him and more was sent over. autopsy reports, descriptions, circumstances- etc. but at the moment we're putting our trust in Eagan county and NamUs. as far as i can remember NamUs has always been our friend, and Eagan county ultimately wants their 17 year old back just as badly as i want our doe identified so I trust them immensely.
 
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