Coroner: Body found in French Creek remains unidentified

The identity of a man whose body was found in French Creek in Meadville in early October remains unknown, Crawford County Coroner Eric Coston told The Meadville Tribune on Thursday.

The man's body was discovered in the creek around 2:30 p.m. Oct. 4 by three kayakers near the Meadville Area Sewer Authority plant.

The man found had no identification on him. He was white, age 30 to 40, 6 feet tall, weighing 187 pounds with shoulder-length brown hair. He was fully clothed but was not wearing shoes. An autopsy found no wounds on the body nor did the man have any tattoos or scars.

Since no match was found for a DNA sample taken from the deceased, Coston said the office is trying some different techniques to obtain potential identification of the man.

"His DNA was not in the CODIS system," Coston said. "CODIS probably would have it if he was ever fingerprinted, had been in the military or had been jailed (for certain crimes)."

CODIS is the Combined DNA Index System used by law enforcement.

To identify the man, an out-of-state forensic artist is developing a sketch of what the man's face may have looked like, Coston said.

The man's body — including his face — was swollen due to being in the water and the onset of decomposition, Coston said.

"It (the artist's rendering) will be based on his bone structure," Coston said. "We have submitted a CAT scan of the man's face and he'd base it on that as well as the man's age, his height and his weight."

In addition, Coston said his office has been in contact with Othram Labs Inc. of The Woodlands, Texas, a private forensic laboratory.

Othram uses forensic-grade genome sequencing from DNA samples to develop a DNA profile. It then uses a comprehensive database with hundreds of thousands of genetic markers to identify distant relatives.

Coston said he expects to hear next week whether Othram will accept a DNA sample from the case for potential testing.

Coston said toxicology results did find alcohol and illegal drugs in the man's system.

"Alcohol and illegal drugs without a doubt contributed to his death," Coston said. "There was not prescription medication in his system."

However, Coston declined to elaborate on the toxicology report citing the still open investigation into the man's death.

Coston has yet to rule on both what caused the death and the manner of the man's death.