Full Name: John Doe

Alternative Name: 1981 Jefferson County John Doe

Case Status: Unidentified

Record ID#: 0271

*The names “Jane Doe”  and “John Doe” are English names used when the person’s true name is not known. If used above, the name refers to a person of unknown identity.

Date of Birth*: Estimated between 1940 – 1956
Birthplace:
Age at the Time: 22 – 29
Age Group: 20s
Biological Sex: Male
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Ethnicity: African or Black
Nationality:
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*If the date says January 1, this is often just a placeholder for an unknown specific date. It usually means “sometime that year”.

Physical Build:

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Other Descriptors:

Clothing

• Light colored long sleeve shirt with blue-gray and olive drab irregular design resembling a “camouflage” type design.
• Light colored Boxers.
• High-waisted Pants (Tan, Bell-bottom) that had a pair of triangular flaps sewn from the front pockets to the back of the pants

Possessions:

• Copper-Bracelet (Native American design with owl).
• Ring (ten white insets similar to rhinestones. Lettering inside is illegible).
• Metal Necklace (Corroded).
• Heavy Metal Medallion Frame with indiscernible lettering. Copper-colored Medallion with framed ‘New Orleans’ on top. The letters F,R,E, and N are legible below the city name (likely a reference to the French Quarter). The medallion depicts a long building (believed to be in the French Quarter) below the words beside which are two dancing figures (male and female). The terms ‘Mard’ and ‘Gras’ are visible below the dancers. Then the words ‘St. Louis Cathedral’ and a set of buildings are shown below the dancers.
• One Lincoln 1967 US Penny.

Date of the Disappearance*:

Description: Unknown

Multiple Victims?: No

Rumored or Actual Sightings:

*If the date says January 1, this is often just a placeholder for an unknown specific date. It usually means “sometime that year”.

Date the Body was Recovered: March 25, 1981

Description: On March 25, 1981, a coal drilling crew conducting mineral research stumbled upon a chilling discovery in a remote wooded area just 200 feet south of the abandoned Daniel Payne College campus in Birmingham’s Jefferson County. The skeletal remains of an unidentified Black man, estimated to be between 22 and 29 years old and approximately 6 feet 1 inch tall, were found scattered in the overgrown terrain at 201 Daniel Payne Drive.

The college, a historically Black institution that had served the community since the late 19th century, had been shuttered since 1979 following severe damage from a tornado in April 1977, leaving the surrounding area largely deserted and overgrown. Investigators from the Jefferson County Coroner/Medical Examiner’s Office quickly responded to the scene, cataloging the near-complete skeleton and noting the absence of any immediate signs of foul play, though the cause of death remains undetermined to this day.

The man was dressed in clothing that reflected the fashion of the era: tan bell-bottom pants, a light-colored long-sleeved shirt with a blue-gray and olive drab irregular pattern resembling camouflage, and light-colored boxer-style undershorts.

Several personal items were recovered with the remains, offering potential clues to the man’s identity. These included a heavy metal medallion frame with no discernible lettering, a copper-colored medallion inscribed with “New Orleans” at the top, featuring references to “Mardi Gras,” dancers, and “St. Louis Cathedral” along with etched buildings. Bits of a corroded metal chain necklace were also found, as well as an ornate ring set with ten white insets resembling rhinestones, bearing remnants of etched letters on the inner band that could not be deciphered. A copper-colored bracelet adorned with Native American-style designs and an owl imprint, along with a 1967 Lincoln U.S. penny, rounded out the artifacts.

Despite these details, dental records, fingerprints, and DNA analysis were either unavailable or inconclusive at the time, and the case remains open as one of Jefferson County’s unsolved unidentified persons investigations.

Time of Death: Between three and 12 years prior to the discovery, placing it sometime from 1969 to 1978

Cause of Death:

Recovered Remains (if partial): Yes, it was a near complete skeleton but one or more limbs and hands were not recovered.

Suspected Homicide?:

Multiple Victims?: No

DNA Tested (No Match):

*If the date says January 1, this is often just a placeholder for an unknown specific date. It usually means “sometime that year”.

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