The car crash victim, “Grateful Doe”, In Richmond, Virginia, because of two Grateful Dead ticket stubs in his pocket has been identified more than 2 decades after he was killed, said on Thursday by authorities.
Being confirmed by DNA evidence, the man whose identity remained a mystery for twenty years is Jason Callahan of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, said Arkuie Williams, a spokesman for the Virginia Medical Examiner’s Office. Callahan was 19 when he was killed in southern Virginia in 1995. His injuries made him unrecognizable and his body was never claimed.
It was through those sites that Callahan’s family recognized him and contacted authorities, said Shannon Michelson, his half-sister, who lives in New Jersey.
“I’m glad it was solved, but I’m also incredibly sad because I wanted so badly to reconnect with him,” said Michelson, who said she was among several family members who submitted their DNA to help confirm his identity. She said she had not seen Callahan since she was a child, when their father and his mother separated.
Callahan’s mother filed a missing person’s report for her son with the Myrtle Beach Police Department in January of that year.
She told authorities that she hadn’t heard from her son since June of 1995 when he left to follow the Grateful Dead, according to the report. Lt. Joey Crosby said she told officials that she didn’t know where he had been traveling and wasn’t sure where to file the report. Michelson said Callahan often ran away from home and that his parents just assumed he was living on his own somewhere.
“No one ever thought to report him missing because they thought he wanted to be missing,” Michelson said.
This was found on the CNN website.
