OH BUTLER COUNTY JOHN DOE: WM, 30-60, found in Great Miami River north of Hamilton, OH - 18 May 1997 *LARRY PORTER*

On May 18, 1997 the decomposing body of a white male was discovered in the Great Miami River near Reigart Road at the south end of Horseshoe Dam in Fairfield Township by Indian Springs, north of Hamilton, OH. The location of the body has led investigators to suspect the man may have been a victim a hit-and-run accident.

The deceased is estimated to have been between 35-60 years old, 5’10, 120-140 lbs with a husky build and an unusual protruding chin. At autopsy the discovery of surgical scar in his facial bone indicated he probably would have had a scar on the inside edge of his right eye. Within a year before his death, all his teeth had been extracted. And, the autopsy revealed he had cirrhosis of the liver, so he may have had a problem with alcoholism.

DNA Doe Project Status: Research in progress

Butler County John Doe 1997 - DNA Doe Project

Description On May 18, 1997 the decomposing body of a white male was discovered in the Great Miami River near Reigart Road at the south end of Horseshoe Dam in Fairfield Township by Indian Springs, north of Hamilton, OH. The location of the body has led investigators to suspect the man may have...

dnadoeproject.org

The body of a white male was found in the Great Miami River, north of Hamilton, OH in Butler County. The victim is estimated to be 35-60 years old, 5'10", 120-140 lbs with a husky build and an unusual protruding chin. The victim was wearing Structure brand jeans, a brown leather belt with an overall length of 38" with a wear mark at 33", Fruit of the Loom underwear size 30-32, a watch with a maroon nylon band and a beaded necklace, possibly black onyx with silver every third bead and 16.5" long. The victim had a surgical scar on the bone over the right eye. The bone in the upper orbit of the right eye was found to have a fracture repair made with surgical wire. DNA available for comparison.

Porter - Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost

www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov

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[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

Demographics
Sex: Male
Race / Ethnicity: White / Caucasian
Estimated Age Group: Adult - Pre 60
Estimated Age Range (Years): 30-60
Estimated Year of Death: 1996-1997
Estimated PMI: Months
Height: 5' 10"(70 inches) , Estimated
Weight: Cannot Estimate

Circumstances
Type: Unidentified Deceased
Date Body Found: May 18, 1997
Location Found Map
Location: Ohio
County: Butler County
Circumstances of Recovery: Found in Great Miami River, Fairfield Township near Reigart Road, south end of Horseshoe Dam, Indian Springs, OH.

Details of Recovery
Inventory of Remains: All parts recovered
Condition of Remains: Not recognizable - Decomposing/putrefaction

Physical Description
Distinctive Physical Features
Scar/mark: Probably would have noticeable scar on the outside edge of the right eye, surgical wire found in skull in the lateral margin of the right orbit

Clothing and Accessories
Clothing: Structure brand cut-off blue jean shorts 31" waist, size 30-32 Fruit of the Loom white jockey underwear, brown leather belt with gold-colored buckle - On the Body

Jewelry: Silver-colored necklace with black beads, maroon nylon watch band (watch face missing) - On the Body

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

122UMOH

www.doenetwork.org

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Butler County John Doe Press Release - DNA Doe Project Cases

Twenty-three year old Butler County cold case victim named Identification of 6th Ohio Doe by DNA Doe Project Hamilton, OH – September 14, 2020 – The Butler County Coroner’s Office (BCCO) and the DNA Doe Project (DDP) announce the identity of a male discovered in the Great Miami River north of...

dnadoeproject.org

Twenty-three year old Butler County cold case victim named

The Butler County Coroner’s Office (BCCO) and the DNA Doe Project (DDP) announce the identity of a male discovered in the Great Miami River north of Hamilton, Ohio in May 1997 as Larry Joe Porter. The nature of the injuries were consistent with a person hit by a motor vehicle. The cause and manner of death are still undetermined.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Decades old mystery solved: Butler County Coroner identifies human remains found in 1997

A decades old mystery is finally solved. The Butler County Coroner's office used DNA and genealogy to identify human remains found in 1997. The technology is being used by coroners across the country.

www.wcpo.com

Decades old mystery solved: Butler County Coroner identifies human remains found in 1997

Twenty-three years after members of the Hamilton Boat Club found the decomposing body of an unidentified man floating face-down in the Great Miami River, William Havens, an investigator with the Butler County Coroner's Office, sat in the Ohio home of the man's relatives preparing to tell them that the case had been solved.

Havens said he had taken DNA samples from them months earlier and had promised to return with the results.

"I apologize for taking so long," Havens recalled telling two relatives sitting in the living room and a third relative who watched on FaceTime from another state during their meeting on August 30.

"The DNA sample that we retrieved from you is a positive match for Larry Joe Porter," Havens said he told the family.

Havens said Porter had traveled a lot through the area, had some tough times and lost touch with his family.

"Now we know," Porter's relatives replied, according to Havens.

Then, Havens said, they cried.

"It was a very emotional time for not only them, but for me," Havens told the WCPO 9 I-Team.

Butler County Coroner Lisa Mannix said advanced technology known as forensic genetic genealogy — not widely available for law enforcement until recent years — was the key to bringing closure for Porter's family.

"Twenty-three years this person remained unidentified until we got new technology," said Mannix, who became coroner in 2012.



In August 2019, Werden said, DNA Doe Project hired an expert to convert that data into a smaller file that their volunteer genetic genealogists uploaded to an open source DNA genealogy database called GED Match.

"We didn't have any good matches," Werden told the I-Team.

Werden said the coroner's office agreed to let the nonprofit pursue a match on another site, Family Tree DNA.

DNA Doe Project volunteers uploaded the file of the Butler County John Doe to Family Tree DNA.

They located a file that matched the John Doe, according to Werden.

It had been uploaded by one of Porter's close relatives.

Werden said DNA Doe Project used those DNA files to build a "family tree."