Restoring Names to the Nameless through Forensic Science and Investigative Rigor.
Over 10,000 human beings lie in nameless graves across the United States. TheUnidentified.org bridges verified autopsy records, stable isotope geochemistry, and genetic genealogy to bring cold cases out of the archives and into resolution.
"Julie Doe" (1988 Lake County, Florida)
An unidentified transgender homicide victim discovered off CR 471. Groundbreaking case in forensic isotope testing and gender-affirming surgical history, featured on The Fall Line podcast.
Active Cold Case Files & Records
Browse authenticated case files cross-referenced with NamUs numbers, coroner findings, and investigative leads.
Martha Gail Joiner (1972)
Disappeared from Thonotosassa, FL at age 13 while walking her pet raccoon. Subject of extensive forensic evaluations and the Trace Evidence podcast.
"Julie Doe" (Green Swamp 1988)
Unidentified transgender homicide victim recovered in Lake County, FL. Groundbreaking case in stable isotope ratio analysis (SIRA) and DNA genealogy.
Houston Boat Shed Doe ("Swimsuit Boy")
The final unidentified victim of serial killer Dean Corll. Distinctive Catalina swim trunks, spina bifida occulta, and the persistent 'Bobby French' lead.
Melissa Ann Trumpy (2021)
Disappeared from Green County, WI; vehicle found abandoned across the state line in Stephenson County, IL. Official Wisconsin DOJ clearinghouse priority.
Heather Archer (2016)
Missing from Milwaukee, WI since July 2016. High-priority missing adult case officially indexed by the Wisconsin DOJ Clearinghouse.
Kimberly Ann Funk ("Vancleave Jane Doe")
Found in Jackson County, MS in 1991. Identified in 2021 as Sharon, PA native Kimberly Funk through Carl Koppelman's 3D digital art and Othram IGG.
Francis Wayne Alexander (Gacy Body 5)
Identified in 2021 through the DNA Doe Project and Carl Koppelman's archival research after 45 years as an unnamed victim of John Wayne Gacy.
Tammy Jo Alexander ("Caledonia Jane Doe")
Disappeared from Florida in 1979; recovered in Livingston County, NY. Carl Koppelman's portrait led to her positive identification in 2015.
Forensic Science, Art & Genomic Retrospectives
Long-form editorial investigations detailing the scientific breakthroughs breaking decades of cold case silence.
Carl Koppelman: Restoring Humanity Through Facial Reconstruction
How an accountant transformed cold-case investigations through tissue-depth calculations, digital painting, and obsessive indexing, solving cases like Tammy Jo Alexander and Francis Wayne Alexander.
Stable Isotope Ratio Analysis: Geochemical Mapping
A scientific examination of oxygen, strontium, and carbon isotope testing in human enamel and how USF anthropologists narrowed a 1988 homicide victim's origin to South Florida.
Missing Boy Ruled Out as Gacy's Victim: The Paradox of Elimination
How Sheriff Thomas Dart's historic DNA push to identify John Wayne Gacy's remaining victims cleared dozens of 1970s cold cases and unexpectedly solved homicides nationwide.
Direct Collaboration with State Missing Persons Clearinghouses
TheUnidentified.org is honored to serve as an authoritative research and database reference for state clearinghouses, including the Wisconsin Department of Justice Clearinghouse for Missing & Exploited Children & Adults (missingpersons.doj.wi.gov). We work directly with medical examiners, detectives, and coroner offices across North America.