The unidentified man who carried fool’s gold (1988)

Objects surviving a name

A man’s body was found in woods in Woodland Township on January 31, 1988. The State Police bulletin records a gold-colored money clip with its insignia missing and a piece of iron pyrite in his jeans. Dental charts and X-rays were available for comparison; police also noted that he might have walked with a limp.

Two records of the same unknown person

Ramapo College now lists Burlington County John Doe 1988 among its genetic-genealogy cases in progress, working with the State Police Cold Case Unit. Its description also mentions the pyrite and a key ring.

The descriptions differ in estimated age, height and belt color. Those are reasons to retain each source’s uncertainty, rather than manufacture one exact profile. Neither the objects nor a facial reconstruction establish a name. The publicly listed genealogy effort is an additional identification route; it is not an announced match.