The Forgotten Boy: A Mystery in Newburyport, Massachusetts
On November 28, 1992 a father and sun pulled off of I-95 in Newburyport, Massachusetts to pick some flowers. What should have been a nice morning turned into a nightmare when they stumbled across the body of a teenage boy. This boy remains unidentified, known only as Essex County John Doe to this day.
He was found off of the Southbound Route 113 exit around 46 feet from the road. The area where he was found was kind of swampy, so he was partially submerged in the water. He was a Caucasian male, likely between the ages of 11–17. He had been dead for around 1–5 years, so his hair and eye color could not be determined. He was somewhere between 5 foot 6 inches and 5 foot 10 inches in height, his weight could not be determined due to his level of decomposition.
John Doe had an impacted molar that had grown sideways through his jaw. This would have likely been very painful, and he definitely would have noticed and/or mentioned it. There was no evidence that he had ever gotten any kind of dental treatment for this issue or otherwise. This could indicate a low socioeconomic status, neglectful parenting, or an adherence to a religious doctrine against seeking medical care.
He was likely wearing a dark synthetic polo like shirt, Levi’s jeans with a waist of 32 inches and a length of 30 inches, socks, and size 11 Reebok brand high-top sneakers.
John Doe’s cause of death could not be determined due to the state of his remains. Additionally, no official speculation has been made by authorities as to how this John Doe died. However, they did mention that soft tissue damage could have been possible. Most online believe that he was murdered and dumped where he was found.
One source also mentioned a head injury but it was unclear if it was a previous head injury or one sustained at or around time of death.
The Investigation
After his discovery Massachusetts State Trooper, Steven Petrie, is quoted as saying “Finding bodies in the woods is common this time of year. We’ve got a lot of hunters and people out in the woods. They go where nobody else goes all year”. Essentially meaning that there are a whole host of people that could have killed this John Doe.
It stated in the article that they were planning on comparing John Doe’s description with local missing person’s reports. However, he did not match any of them. This led police to believe that he was likely a runaway. Since I-95 runs from Florida to Maine, he could honestly be from anywhere. Some investigators believe he could even be Canadian. There is also speculation that he could have been “on the road” for quite a long time, possibly years.
According to people from the area, this case largely fell under the radar. I could not find any other contemporary new articles about his case, even though I searched for a few hours. It seems that public interest in this case was quite low so this young man was largely forgotten.
This seems to be where the information regarding this John Doe ends. I searched and searched and came up empty handed. It is sad to me that he seems to have been largely discarded by the public.
Newburyport
Since there is no more information about the John Doe, I decided to look into the city where he was found.
Its population sits at around 18,600 and is 92.2% Caucasian. It seems to be a rather affluent area with a median home value of $737,200 and 5.85% of its citizens live below the poverty line. Just a note: the national average for people below the poverty line is 12.5%. Additionally, the city boasts a bustling tourist industry.
All of this to say, if this John Doe wound up in the more affluent areas he likely would have stuck out. But, due to tourism and the racial breakdown of the city, he likely would not have been noticed. He likely faded into the background like any other tourist. That is, if he was in Newburyport at all. Newburyport could have just been the most convenient dump site, and this John Doe could have never set foot in it while alive.
Rule-Outs
While we don’t know who this John Doe truly is, we do know who he isn’t. Below is a list of people who have been ruled out as being this John Doe.
All of these young men are still missing.
Possible Identities
Below is a list of missing persons that I compiled from my own research that could possibly be this John Doe.
All of these young men are, obviously, still missing.
Conclusions
Though the information about him is limited, he still deserved to be discussed and remembered. This case is pretty recent, in comparison to some of the cases I have covered, so his family could still be out there and actively looking for him. He could be one of the men on my list or he could be none of them as many Jane and John Does have been identified as people who were never reported missing.
DNA, dentals, head x-rays, and body x-rays are all available for identification purposes.
If you have any information that could lead to the identification of Essex County John Doe (1992) or the circumstances surrounding his death, please contact:
- Massachusetts Office of the Chief Medical Examiner at (617)-267–6767 regarding case number 1992–3820
- Massachusetts State Police Sergeant Dennis Marks at (978)-745–8908 in reference to case number 92–12
