Unidentified 'River Man' case frustrates St. Louis police

ST. LOUIS -- His remains are on a gurney in a small room kept at 5 degrees in the St. Louis city morgue. A numbered tag identifies him as 2007-1244, but frustrated investigators here simply call him "River Man."

The unidentified man was found in the Mississippi River-- which runs through 10 states including Illinois -- in June. Since then he has ended up a rare case, with no one claiming him. His fingerprints didn't match any database. Investigators can't even tell how he died.

"In this day and age, people leave trails of identification and people miss people," said St. Louis Police Capt. James Gieseke. "This case is particularly puzzling."

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Sunday that the search for the man's identity illustrates the challenges authorities face when an unidentified body comes their way. The challenges, some say, show the need for national registry of unidentified dead and missing people.

River Man was discovered June 13 by a motorist. An autopsy couldn't determine how he died or how long he had been in the water.

Investigators say he was an adult black man, 5-foot-10 and 150 pounds. He could be between the ages of 20 and 30 and had an old healed fracture on his right forearm.

In similar cases, police often try to identify bodies using the National Crime Information Center's database.

But not all agencies report to the NCIC. Participation is voluntary. There has not been a mandatory, central clearinghouse for such matters.

Unless someone comes forward soon, the city will bury the man in a nondescript grave.

"We try to imagine how difficult it must be for the decedent's family to wonder and not know where he is," said Rose Psara, the St. Louis medical examiner's chief investigator. "We're still optimistic he'll be identified."