The Flattop John Doe:

(Images: Doe Network) 

"Dear Lib, I should write in case my situation doesn't improve. This may be the end of my journey.”

 In September 2004 two Elk hunters found the skeletal remains of an unknown man, at the Flat Tops, White River National Forest, Garfield County, Colorado. Dubbed the “Flat top John Doe”, the unidentified man was a white, Caucasian male, around 5”11- 6”1 and estimated between the ages of 35 – 65.

 He had extensive dental work, including crowns, bridge work and a gold capped tooth and also suffered from severe degeneration of the spine and neck. The man had no broken bones and cause of death was recorded as natural / unknown.

Amongst his personal effects at the scene was a journal.

Although damaged over the estimated five years he had gone undiscovered, some of the writing was legible and said as follows:

 "I should write in case my situation here doesn't improve. This may be the end of my journey."

 "Would like for you to claim the body . . . services or memoreal. Cremation."

"Third choice take them up in a glider (I promise not to get sick on you,"

Other pages were less legible and only a few words per sentence could be read.

 The unknown man appeared to be requesting the recipient of the note “Lib” to contact another female in the event of his death.

"ar on the . . . would you call her...d have it sent...you because I . . . want it to . . . where." "be . . . er . . . my . . . s are going."

Other items found on and around the man's person include: -deteriorated pieces of his sleeping bag and backpack.

-Various items of attire including a green rain poncho, blue woolen socks with duct-tape around the toes (possibly to protect from blisters while hiking), a black belt, and underwear.

-An empty bottle of Tylenol pills -A pack of razors, foam ear plugs, a brush, tweezers, finger nail clippers.

 -Six $ Bills, one $1 bill, one $5 bill and one $1 bill, all dated 1999.
-Various camping accessories including a butane gas stove with two gas canisters, two canteens, a dome tent, two drinking cups, a water filter kit, a tent repair kit, an aluminum cooking pot, two National geographic maps wrapped in plastic with the journey route to the discovery site of the skeletal remains marked on them.

-Sun glasses, reading glasses, binoculars and a magnifying glass.
-A 4 in 1 game set including battleships.
-A pack of coloured lighters and twenty packs of camel cigarettes

-A green spiral note book with a heart incorporating three symbols inside, two of which appear to be an X and a cat drawn on the cover. 

The man has not been identified to this day. 

Who was he? 

What happened to him? 

And who is Lib?

The Doe network page for The Flat top Doe

sources: http://doenetwork.org/cases/789umco.html

THE CASE OF "OLD MIKE"

 August 21st, 1911: Prescott, Nevada country:

“Old Mike” the mortuary staff christened him, after all, nobody had any idea who this John Doe was.

Some people claimed that the nameless man was a travelling salesman, selling small items like thread and pencils; others said he was a travelling hobo.

Old Mike was found in Prescott city park, slumped up against an oak tree with eighty cents and a silver spoon in his pocket and no clues to his identity what so ever.

He was a 40 something Caucasian man, standing at 5”4, short and stocky, with a moustache, two gold teeth and crutches.

Despite photos of the unknown man being published, nobody came forward to identify him. He was embalmed and put on display at a local funeral home, in the hopes that someone would recognize him, take him home and lay him to rest.

The original intention was to have him displayed for around a week, but days passed, and months passed, and eventually 64 years had passed before it was decided ol’ Mike deserved retirement. He was finally buried on May 4^th 1975.

For 62 years people came to gawp at the embalmed body of old mike, a man famous for dying without ID and having his eyeballs eerily painted onto his eye lids.

He was somebody to someone, but who was he?

I guess we'll never know.