Unidentified boy 14-17, hitchiker died March 27, 1961 Bibb County AL

[Nut44x4]

Not sure if this is the right place to put it, but it isn't a crime...so unsolved crimes doesn't work for it.



Bibb Co. investigators trying to solve 55-year-old mystery
Thursday, June 2nd 2016, 10:37 pm EDT

BIBB COUNTY, AL (WBRC) -
A nearly 60-year-old mystery in Centreville could soon be solved with advancements in technology.

On March 27, 1961, a young teen boy was hitchhiking and picked up along Highway 25 south of Wilton, near the Shelby-Bibb County line. Investigators say a short time later, the driver of the car lost control on River Bend Road in Centreville.

He went over the bridge and crashed into the river. He survived but the young boy did not.

"At that point and time, they were not able to find relatives of the boy. So the community came together and were able to bury him,” said Scott Cox, Bibb County’s Deputy Coroner.

The young boy was estimated to be 14 to 17 years old. The boy told the driver he ran away after his parents separated.

He was wearing a Timex wrist watch and had a suitcase full of clothes and pack of Pall Mall cigarettes with a South Carolina tax stamp on it.

"It would be a great thing to actually put a name with this person,” Cox said.

Next week, investigators are scheduled to exhume is body and extract his DNA.

The DNA will be set to a lab for analysis at the University of North Texas. Investigators are hoping advancements in technology will help solve this decades-old case.

"If he’s got any living relatives that have been wondering all these years what happened to their brother, son, cousin? To actually reunite someone that's still living so they can finally put closure to something they've been wondering about all their life,” Cox added.

Authorities say the boy was approximately 5’6’’ tall with light brown hair and blue eyes.

The boy also had a homemade tattoo with the words "R.Y. in love or "R + Y in love" on his left arm.

Anyone that can help identify the boy is asked to call the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST.
http://www.wbrc.com/story/32129263/bibb-co-investigators-trying-to-solve-55-year-old-mystery

[Nut44x4]

http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2016/06/exhumation_underway_for_body_o.html

updated June 09, 2016 at 4:38 PM
The body of an unidentified teen hitchhiker killed 55 years ago in Bibb County is being exhumed this morning in a renewed effort to find out who he was.
The exhumation began about 7 a.m. today and workers had reached the vault about 7:25 a.m. Lawrence said the remains will be taken to the Alabama Department of Forensic Science in Montgomery which will obtain the DNA samples to send to researchers at the University of North Texas. The boy's body will then be re-buried back in Centreville this afternoon.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2016/06/exhumation_underway_for_body_o.html

updated June 09, 2016 at 4:38 PM
The body of an unidentified teen hitchhiker killed 55 years ago in Bibb County is being exhumed this morning in a renewed effort to find out who he was.
The exhumation began about 7 a.m. today and workers had reached the vault about 7:25 a.m. Lawrence said the remains will be taken to the Alabama Department of Forensic Science in Montgomery which will obtain the DNA samples to send to researchers at the University of North Texas. The boy's body will then be re-buried back in Centreville this afternoon.

Even after 55 years, I think it's important to identify this young man.  He was someone's son, possibly brother.  Thank you for posting the story, Nut.