Police Seek To ID Remains Found In Montco, New Photo Released

LOWER MORELAND TOWNSHIP, PA — Montgomery County authorities are asking the public's help in identifying a man whose skeletal remains were found in 2009. The Coroner's Office said the remains were found in the woods behind the 2500 block of Pine Road in the Huntingdon Valley section of Lower Moreland Township.

The Coroner's Office collected nearly all of the bones found, which were nearly fully skeletonized, and cleaned and preserved them. In 2018, the Montgomery County District Attorney used DNA phenotyping science, which is often used to create images of suspects in criminal cases, to produce the photo seen above.

The Coroners' Office says the photo above, which shows certain features extracted from his DNA profile, is possibly what he looked like. "This is not an exact science, but it is something worth exploring," the release says.

The DNA also revealed the man had ethnic roots in the Mediterranean, southeastern Europe, and northwestern Middle East.

Analysis has shown that there was no skeletal trauma prior to the man's death, and that the cause of death is undetermined. They did, however, find in some remaining soft tissue signs of methamphetamine use, the release says.

When he was found, on March 15, 2009, it had been between 18 and 24 months since the man's death. He was between 35 and 60 years old and stood about 5-foot-6. He has brown polo pants, size 32x30 and Dexter dress shoes.

His teeth were well-cared for, but without a potential ID, there is no record to with authorities can compare them.

The Lower Moreland Police Department is asking anybody with information that might help to identify the man to contact them at 215-947-3132.