Michigan: DNA Is Needed To Solve Mystery Of Luce County John Doe

37 years ago in Luce County, Michigan, a man's body was found but it is going to take DNA to identify the John Doe and help is needed.

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Where is Luce County, Michigan?

Luce County, Michigan, is located in the Upper Peninsula with a small population of just over 5,300 residents. The county borders the Lake Superior shoreline, which is 908 square miles, and features 300,000 acres of public access land that supports 15,000 acres of inland lakes and just over 650 miles of rivers and streams.

Luce County John Doe

According to NamUs, 37 years ago on October 24, 1987, two hunters who were hunting grouse about 20 miles north of Newberry discovered a man's body in a wooded area 2-tenths of a mile south of Lake Superior.

The body had decomposed and was mostly a skeleton but was still dressed in a camouflage jacket, pants, shirt, and military-style boots. The man referred to as the Luce County John Doe, was a 5'8" white male between 20 and 35 years old, with reddish brown hair. Forensic anthropologists said the man had been dead anywhere from 4 months to 2 years before the hunters found him. There was no indication of how he died but his death was classified as a homicide.

Read More: Grandville Born Pearl Harbor Sailor to be Buried in Hawaii

DNA Needed to Identify Luce County John Doe

A group known as the DNA Doe Project posted on their Facebook page they need help in finding the identity of the the Luce County John Doe. The project is working with genealogists to try and identify him.

Researchers working on this case found that John Doe has German and Polish roots and may have grandparents who may have settled in the ReFrew, Ontario, or Sault Ste. Marie area.

If you know any families with the last names Sattleberg, Radke, Papke, or Zabel, they are encouraged to get a DNA test to find out if there is a relation to undercover John Doe's identity and why he was in those woods in 1987.