ST. LOUIS (KMOX) – Clifford Watt was squirrel hunting near Warrenton and Foristell when he parted the brush and saw the body.
He backed away and called the Warren County Sheriff’s Department, which immediately called in Franklin County investigators for help. That was in 1987.
Warren County Sheriff’s Lt. Matt Schmutz says before DNA evidence was widely used, victims were identified by their fingerprints and their face, which is why John Doe’s killer or killers cut off his head and hands.
Schmutz says the man also had a scar that is likely a bullet wound that was never professionally treated, he had seven broken ribs, and he had alcohol and cocaine in his system.
Those clues could point to cocaine trafficking crimes or the mafia, he says.
The shirt he was wearing was unique, Schmutz tells KMOX News, in that it was from the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, and couldn’t have been purchased from just anywhere.
Courtesy of the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
Courtesy of the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
He also had 87 cents in his pocket, as well as a token from the Kansas City International Airport.
Schmutz thinks these two factors could play a huge part in finding out who the man was and where he was from.
“Somebody’s missing this guy out there,” he said. “And it’s just a matter of time before we find them.”
The man had pale skin, stood around 5 feet 8 inches to 5 feet 10 inches tall, and weighed around 235 pounds. Authorities estimate his age to be between 35 and 45 years old.
They do not believe he was killed in Warren County, but that his killer or killers dumped him there along rural route W.
The Highway Patrol’s Missing Person’s Unit has issued a poster with more photos in hopes that someone might have more information on the case.
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