SAN JOSE — Coroner’s officials are renewing efforts to identify a man found dead in Coyote Creek on the edge of San Jose nearly three decades ago, and are asking for the public’s help, authorities said.
In a news release Thursday, the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office detailed its efforts to identify and find kin for a man found floating in a portion of the lengthy creek that goes through Metcalf Park on June 14, 1997. The office stated that its call for public tips in the case is is part of broader work “through a backlog of cases of unidentified decedents utilizing new technology.”
The man was found caught in a tree branch and was pronounced dead at the scene. He was described as between 35 and 45 years old, standing 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing 139 pounds. His race was unidentifiable, but the coroner’s office stated he had brown hair, a short mustache and “natural teeth.”
Additionally, the man had the letters “B” and “J” tattooed above his left breast. When he was found, he was wearing a floral short-sleeved shirt, khaki pants and black boots.
Anyone with information for coroner investigators can contact 408-793-1903, and reference the case number 97-165-004 or the cite UP127425, the man’s identifier in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.