Kane County John Doe (1994)
{{Article for deletion/dated|page=Kane County John Doe (1994)|timestamp=20250511002439|year=2025|month=May|day=11|substed=yes}}
{{notability|1=Biographies|date=January 2025}}
{{Short description|Unsolved 1994 murder case in Utah}}
{{Orphan|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name = James Howard Conklin
| disappeared_date = Estimated 1992 (aged 42)
| disappeared_place = Kane County, Utah, U.S.
| disappeared_status = Partial remains found; case unsolved
| height = 6'0 (estimated)
| birth_date = 1950
}}
The Kane County John Doe refers to a body discovered in 1994. The body remained unidentified for thirty years until the Othram genetics lab identified it as that of as James Howard Conklin in 2024.{{cite web |url=https://dnasolves.com/articles/james-conklin-utah/ |title=Utah Department of Public Safety Team with Othram to Identify a 1994 John Doe |website=DNASolves.com |accessdate=10 May 2025}}
Discovery
On February 6, 1994, hikers discovered a human skull in a crevice about a quarter mile south of State Road 89 near the town of Big Water, Kane County, Utah. The skull, found in a remote and rugged area, had been wedged into a rock crevice. A subsequent search of the surrounding area revealed additional skeletal remains scattered by scavenging animals, along with several personal items. Investigators determined the man likely died around 1992, two years before the discovery.{{cite web |url=https://bci.utah.gov/coldcases/john-doe-5/ |title=John Doe (1994) |website=Utah Bureau of Criminal Identification |access-date=September 21, 2024}}{{cite web |url=https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/114umut.html |title=114UMUT - Unidentified Male |website=Doe Network |access-date=September 21, 2024}}
The skull exhibited signs of blunt force trauma, suggesting the victim was killed by a blow or stomp to the head. University of Utah anthropologist John McCullough demonstrated that the right side of the man’s face had been knocked loose from the skull as a result of the impact.{{cite news |title=Sun-Bleached Skull Still Keeping Its Secrets |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-salt-lake-tribune-1994-john-doe/108459992/ |newspaper=The Salt Lake Tribune |date=May 7, 1994 |access-date=September 21, 2024 |author=Joshua B. Good}} Blood-soaked sand was found where the body had been dumped, further suggesting the individual may have died at that location.{{cite news |title=Skull may offer clues to '85 murder |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-spectrum-1994-john-doe/108460137/ |newspaper=The Daily Spectrum |date=May 8, 1994 |access-date=September 21, 2024 |agency=Associated Press}}
Physical description
The unidentified man was estimated to be between 30 and 55 years old at the time of his death. He was approximately 6 feet tall, with brown hair that had a touch of grey. McCullough also noted that the man had large bones and rugged facial features. Investigators speculated that the man may have had some Native American ancestry. The man had extensive dental work, including a porcelain crown and a gold filling. Forensic artists later produced a facial reconstruction based on the remains to assist with identification efforts.
Clothing and personal items
Several personal items were discovered near the remains, including a red baseball cap, a plaid jacket with a blue quilted liner (size XL), a red, white, and black plaid flannel shirt, blue denim trousers (size 33), and Pro Action tennis shoes (size 11 1/2). A pair of shattered sunglasses was found nearby, along with three faded documents. These documents included a jail booking sheet and a court document from Coconino County, Arizona, as well as a newspaper clipping listing entertainment events in Flagstaff, Arizona. Some articles of clothing were found to have been torn, possibly indicating a struggle or movement through rough terrain.
Investigation
Investigators speculated that the man may have traveled from Flagstaff, Arizona, and was either killed along the way or after arriving in Kane County. Kane County Sheriff Maxwell Jackson hoped that sending the faded documents to FBI forensic experts in Washington, D.C., could yield clues to the man’s identity. Blood-soaked sand found at the scene was also sent to Oregon in an attempt to extract DNA. However, the documents were too faded to provide concrete leads, and efforts to identify the man through forensic reconstruction and DNA testing have been unsuccessful. It was further speculated that the man's body had been dumped under a juniper tree before being scattered by coyotes. The exact cause of death remains undetermined, though blunt force trauma is suspected. As of now, the case remains unsolved.
James Howard Conklin
In 2024, 30 years after the case had gone cold, Othram genetics lab in Texas was able to piece together a "comprehensive DNA profile" of the John Doe, despite the failure of earlier attempts to identify the body by DNA analysis. Orthram was able to provide a list of possible relatives to Kane County Sheriff's Detectives who where able to track one down and take a DNA sample from them which confirmed that the John Doe was their father, James Howard Conklin, a homeless man last seen in Flagstaff, Arizona, in May of 1988. The exact manner of Conklin's death is still under investigation.{{cite web |last1=FREEMAN |first1=JACOB |title=DNA sequencing identifies remains in 30 year cold case |url=https://ksltv.com/local-news/dna-sequencing-identified-remains-in-30-year-cold-case/713262/ |website=KSL-TV |date=7 December 2024 |access-date=22 May 2025}}