Body found in San Joaquin County in 1981 identified 44 years later
THORNTON — The body of a Black man found floating in water in rural San Joaquin County in the 1980s has been identified more than four decades later, authorities said Monday.
Advancements in fingerprint technology helped identify the deceased as Edward Donald Raymond, who would have been 34 at the time of his death, the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office said.
Raymond's body was found on the afternoon of July 13, 1981, in water near Blossom Road and Beaver Slough in the community of Thornton, located along Interstate 5 just north of Stockton.
The sheriff's office said Raymond was never reported missing, and the only information they found related to him was a 1976 arrest by San Francisco police and an Oakland address he provided them.
Raymond, whose body authorities said was badly decomposed when it was found, had a tattoo on the left arm that said "Black is Beautiful" and had suffered a gunshot wound to the right shoulder.
At the time, it was believed Raymond was connected to a Cadillac seen driving in the area days earlier, authorities said. That vehicle's driver resembled Raymond, but the vehicle was not found at the scene.
The San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office asks that anyone who may have information on what happened to Raymond contact the department.
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