DNA from Rutherford County Leads to Identification of Body Found in Florida 40-Years-Ago – Wgnsradio

ABOVE: Artist rendering of the male found deceased on Aug. 1, 1978 at Poole Knobs Recreation area in La Vergne.

Relatives of missing man James Sanders waited 43 years before learning last week their brothers remains were found in 1981 in Immokalee, Fla., based on DNA samples submitted by Rutherford County Sheriffs detectives.

32-Year-old Sandersof Portland, Tenn., was lastseen Jan. 1, 1978 at a bus stop in Tennessee en route to North Carolina where he planned to work at an aunts tobacco farm. Sanders never arrived at his aunts farm and was never heard from again.

Brother Eddie Sanders contacted Rutherford County Sheriffs Detective Sgt. Dan Goodwin and Steve Kohler in 2014, who were trying to find the identity of a man whose burned body was found Aug. 1, 1978 at Poole Knobs Recreation area in La Vergne.

Sanders wondered if the man found in La Vergne might be his brother. He, his sister and his brothers children gave DNA samples to the detectives who submitted the samples in January 2015 to the North Texas University DNA lab for testing.

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Lab employees notified the detectives six months later the man found in La Vergne was not Sanders (above is a photo of James Sanders as he appeared prior to the last time he was seenon Jan. 1, 1978).

The DNA samples submitted by the Sanders family remained at the lab and now those samples have a match.

Sheriff Kevin Rambosk of Collier County, Florida, announced Friday the lab matched bone from the body found in Immokalee, Florida to Sanders DNA submitted by Rutherford County detectives.

This important development was made possible thanks to DNA technology and the dedication of everyone involved in this investigation, said Rambosk.

Without the combined efforts of multiple agencies, Mr. Sanders would still be unidentified after 40 years, Rambosk said. Now that our victim has a name, the homicide investigation can continue to be actively worked.

The case for the identity of the missing man found in La Vergne is being investigated by Detective Richard Brinkley of the Rutherford County Sheriffs Office.

Brinkley is still trying to identify the suspects who killed the unidentified man while focusing on the identity of the victim.

An autopsy report described the unidentified man as being in his late 30s who was 5-feet-10 tall. He had long, brown hair with a receding hairline and a reddish brown and gray beard. He had a scar on his stomach, no teeth but an upper denture and a quarter-sized mole near his waistline.

Detectives worked with Dr. Lee Meadows Jantz from the state Forensic Anthropology Center who said the mans DNA was submitted to the FBIs Combined DNA Index System to search for a match. No results have been found.

A profile of the unidentified man was added to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.

People may view the mans profile athttps://www.namus.gov/UnidentifiedPersons/Case#/1585?nav.

The sheriffs office is now partnering with Othram, a private DNA lab who recovers human DNA to solve murder cases with hopes for an identification. The team is actively working on matches.

Were pursuing the same thing that solved the Florida case, DNA evidence, Brinkley said.

People who may have information on the man may contact Brinkley atrbrinkley@rcsotn.orgor at 615-904-3045.

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DNA from Rutherford County Leads to Identification of Body Found in Florida 40-Years-Ago - Wgnsradio