Case but puzzling

Body identified in the USA after 47 years

The "Pinnacle Man" was identified after almost 50 years.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/APA/AFP/Stefani Reynolds, ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Almost 50 years after the discovery of a frozen male corpse in a mountain cave in the north-east of the USA, forensic experts have identified the dead man, who was also known as the "Pinnacle Man". "This identification brings the long-awaited clarification to the family," said chief forensic scientist John Fielding. 

Hikers had discovered the body on the famous Appalachian Trail in January 1977. It was 27-year-old Nicolas Paul Grubb from Fort Washington in the US state of Pennsylvania, the coroner's office announced.

Autopsy revealed drug overdose
According to the police, the hikers stated at the time that the deceased was far too lightly clothed for the cold weather. An autopsy determined at the time that the man had died of a drug overdose and that there was no external cause.

Investigators used this image, which was created from the body of the unidentified man, to search for clues about the deceased.

(Bild: APA/AP)

However, he was not identified and the case became an unsolved cold case. Since the discovery site was located in the Berks district near the Pinnacle mountain peak, there has been talk of the "Pinnacle Man" mystery ever since. In 2019, the remains were exhumed because a trail seemed to lead to two missing persons cases. DNA samples were taken at the time, but were unsuccessful. Attempts to reconstruct the face as a drawing using modern technology also failed.

Original fingerprints turned up in an old file
In the end, the perseverance of an investigator led to success: the officer recently found the file with the man's original fingerprints, which had been considered lost for decades, among piles of old files. The police only had copies, but according to the investigators, these were not sufficient for a comparison. The prints were fed into the database of missing persons - and Grubb was identified in less than an hour.

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It turned out that the 27-year-old had served in the National Guard for a while. However, much remains a mystery - including the exact circumstances of his death. Investigators at the time believed it was a drug-related suicide, but today's forensic experts doubt this, as the deputy chief of the Berks County Coroner's Office told the Washington Post (Wednesday edition). The investigation into the case is therefore continuing.