MISSING IN KANSAS: Watch found by John Doe found near Neosho River

Detectives hope a digital watch could help identify a body found years ago in east Kansas.

A man found a skull on April 29, 2017, near the Neosho River, just outside of Neosho Rapids, about 15 miles east of Emporia.

“The reporting party stated he had walked to the river to see how high the water had risen from recent rain when he noticed a skull in a grassy area on the east bank of the Neosho River,” a case report with the U.S. Department of Justice reads.

Later, about 20 feet north of where the skull was found, investigators were about to find more human remains wrapped in a fitted bed sheet and comforter inside of a lawn trash sack. “The sack was tied on the top but animals had torn into the bag to access the remains,” the case report shares.

Along with the body, a digital watch was found. An autopsy was conducted and determined that the John Doe was likely a man middle-to-late aged who was mixed-race – possibly black and white. He lived with scoliosis, meaning he had a curve in his spine. He likely died between 2013 and 2016.

Back then, the Lyon County Sheriff said a private lab did DNA testing to help identify the man. His information was put in databases for comparison against other missing people, criminals and families of missing people.

Body Found: Near Neosho Rapids, Lyon Co., Kan.

Located When: April 29, 2017

Age then: Middle-to-late aged

Hair: Long blonde, white or gray hair, which was about 6 to 8 inches long

If you have information that could help the case, contact the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office at (620) 341-3205; or Kansas Bureau of Investigation at (785) 296-8200 or anonymously online by clicking here.

KAKE News features the story of a missing person every weekday in our morning and evening newscasts. If you have a person you’d like for us to share a story about, please contact Anchor Annette Lawless at [email protected].