San Francisco officials say public tips helped identify a man whose death last week in the South of Market neighborhood prompted a citywide appeal for information.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said that within moments of a press notice being published, multiple leads came in that led to a positive identification.
The decedent, previously listed as John Doe #243, has been identified as Cameron Charles Knutson, 37, of San Francisco.
“Equally important, we were able to locate and notify his legal next of kin,” officials said in a statement.
Knutson was found Nov. 14 in front of 131 10th Street, between Howard and Mission Streets. Emergency responders pronounced him dead at the scene. The cause and manner of death remain under investigation.
He was initially described as a white man, about 30 years old, with red hair, blue eyes and “distinctive facial freckles.” A police sketch artist created a drawing of Knutson in hopes that someone would recognize him.
The medical examiner’s office said it routinely identifies decedents within 24 hours through fingerprints, identification cards, DNA testing and witness interviews. But in this “rare case,” those efforts failed to produce a match.
This article originally published at Public tips help San Francisco officials identify man found dead on SoMa sidewalk.