Current:Home > StocksNearly 50 years after being found dead in a Pennsylvania cave, ‘Pinnacle Man’ is identified-LoTradeCoin
Nearly 50 years after being found dead in a Pennsylvania cave, ‘Pinnacle Man’ is identified
View Date:2024-12-24 07:12:24
The body of a man found frozen in a small Pennsylvania cave nearly 50 years ago has finally been identified.
The remains of Nicholas Paul Grubb, 27, of Fort Washington, were discovered in January 1977 by two hikers who had ducked inside the cave to escape some inclement weather. Grubb has long been known as the “Pinnacle Man,” a reference to the Appalachian mountain peak near where his body was found.
An autopsy at the time found no signs of foul play and determined that he died from a drug overdose. Authorities, though, could not identify Grubb’s body from his appearance, belongings, clothing or dental information. Fingerprints were collected during his autopsy but somehow were misplaced, according to the Berks County Coroner’s Office.
Detectives from the state police and investigators with the coroner’s office had periodically revisited the case over the past 15 years and Grubb’s body was exhumed in August 2019 after dental records linked him to two missing person cases in Florida and Illinois.
DNA samples did not match in either case, but a break came last month in when a Pennsylvania state trooper found Grubb’s missing fingerprints. Within an hour of submitting the card to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, a FBI fingerprint expert matched them to Grubb.
A relative of Grubb was notified of the discovery and family members asked the coroner’s office to place his remains in a family plot.
veryGood! (95725)
Related
- Michelle Obama Is Diving Back into the Dating World—But It’s Not What You Think
- AP Week in Pictures: North America
- Harvard again requiring standardized test scores for those seeking admission
- Cooling Summer Sheets and Bedding That Will Turn Your Bed Into an Oasis
- World War II veteran reflects on life as he turns 100
- Famous bike from 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance' finds new (very public) home
- Iowa governor signs bill that allows for arrest of some migrants
- Former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey says the abortion ruling from justices he chose goes too far
- Mariah Carey's Amazon Holiday Merch Is All I Want for Christmas—and It's Selling Out Fast!
- Ralph Puckett Jr., army colonel awarded Medal of Honor for heroism during Korean War, dies at 97
Ranking
- World War II veteran reflects on life as he turns 100
- Taylor Swift's music is back on TikTok a week before the release of 'Tortured Poets'
- Key events in OJ Simpson’s fall from sports hero and movie star
- 20 years later, Abu Ghraib detainees get their day in US court
- Suspect arrested after deadly Tuskegee University homecoming shooting
- Disney fires back at Gina Carano over 'Mandalorian' firing lawsuit: 'Disney had enough'
- An ambitious plan to build new housing continues to delay New York’s state budget
- Famous bike from 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance' finds new (very public) home
Recommendation
-
Nicky Hilton Shares Her Christmas Plans With Paris, the Secret To Perfect Skin & More Holiday Gift Picks
-
Phoenix officer fired over 2022 fatal shooting of a rock-throwing suspect
-
2024 NFL draft rankings: Caleb Williams, Marvin Harrison Jr. lead top 50 players
-
Man once known as Alabama’s longest-serving sheriff granted parole from prison sentence
-
Does your dog have arthritis? A lot of them do. But treatment can be tricky
-
Alabama lawmakers advance bill to define sex based on reproductive systems, not identity
-
Tennessee GOP senators OK criminalizing helping minors get transgender care, mimicking abortion bill
-
Amazon's 'Fallout' TV show is a video game adaptation that's a 'chaotic' morality tale