Credit: New York State Police (2)
NEED TO KNOW
Clyde A. Coppage, 35, has been identified as the man whose body was discovered without a head or hands in Andover, N.Y., in March 1970
Investigators exhumed the remains in 2022 and used DNA testing with help from the FBI to determine his identity
Coppage had been living in Genesee, Pa., and had never been reported missing, police said
For more than five decades, the man found without a head or hands on a quiet rural road in upstate New York remained a John Doe.
Now, investigators say DNA testing has finally identified him as Clyde A. Coppage, a 35-year-old who had been living in Genesee, Pa., at the time of his disappearance.
New York State Police said in a press release that Coppage’s body was discovered on March 20, 1970, along Davis Hill Road in the town of Andover in Allegany County. Despite years of investigation, authorities were unable to determine who he was.
Credit: New York State Police
On June 7, 2022, investigators exhumed the remains in order to collect DNA, according to the press release. Working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, authorities were eventually able to confirm the body belonged to Coppage.
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Police said Coppage was not originally from the area and had never been reported missing — factors that complicated efforts to identify him.
Credit: New York State Police
The Bureau of Criminal Investigation out of State Police Amity continues to investigate Coppage’s death, which remains open, per the release.
Anyone with information about Coppage or the circumstances surrounding his death is asked to contact the New York State Police at 585-344-6200.
Read the original article on People