Bones found on N.J. beaches ID'd as captain of doomed 19th-century ship
Skeletal remains found on New Jersey beaches decades ago have been identified as those of a 19th-century schooner captain, thanks to the investigative efforts of college students.
The ship, the Oriental, sank in 1844. The schooner was transporting 60 tons of marble from Connecticut to Philadelphia to be used in the construction of Girard College, which still operates today. The ship likely sprung a leak, according to a news release announcing the identification of the remains, and sank off the coast of Brigantine Shoal. All five crew members aboard the ship died.
The skeletal remains, including a skull, were found on a number of South Jersey beaches between 1995 and 2013. The set of remains became known as "Scattered Man John Doe." Police efforts to identify the bones failed.
In 2023, the New Jersey State Police partnered with Ramapo College's Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center. A sample from the bones was uploaded to genetic genealogy company Intermountain Forensics, which submitted it to DNA matching sites in February 2024. Meanwhile, students at Ramapo used the profile for research.
They found ancestry matches dating back to the 1600s, including genetic relatives from Connecticut. For the next year, students continued to find ties to Connecticut, and eventually they started looking at shipwrecks off the coast of New Jersey. They came upon two articles about the sinking of the Oriental. One article named the crew members aboard at the time of the sinking and another detailed the wreck itself.
"The storm was so tremendous that no help could be given from the shore," said the article, which was published in the Boston Daily Bee in December 1844 and described an account from a Connecticut publication.
According to the article, one crew member was "decently buried" after his "corpse was thrown on the shore." No other bodies were discovered immediately after the sinking.
The circumstantial evidence and genetic ancestry led the students to believe "Scattered Man John Doe" might be the captain of the ship, Henry Goodsell. Goodsell was 29 at the time of his death, and left a wife and three children, according to the Boston Daily Bee. The New Jersey State Police collected a family reference sample from one of his great-grandchildren in March 2025.
In April 2025, the NJSP confirmed that "Scattered Man John Doe" was Goodsell. This has become one of the oldest cold case identifications using investigative genetic genealogy, Ramapo said.
"Identifying human remains is one of the most solemn and challenging responsibilities law enforcement is charged with," said Chief of County Detectives Patrick Snyder at the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office. "Law enforcement works hard knowing that behind every case is a promise: that no one will be forgotten, and that we will pursue the truth until families have the answers they deserve."
The Ramapo College IGG Center has consulted on 92 cases, Ramapo said. Two months ago, the program was credited with helping identify the remains of a woman who disappeared in 2014. In November 2024, student research led to an arrest in a decades-old cold case.
Trump confronts South African president during White House meeting, repeats genocide claims
Trump takes questions during meeting with South African president
Rubio, Jayapal have fiery exchange about Afrikaner refugee's antisemitic tweet, student visas
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Yahoo
Cops violated man's civil rights by putting tracker on car in driveway, judges rule
Police must have judicial permission to do more than a visitor could on residential property, court rules. (Dana DiFilippo | New Jersey Monitor) The New Jersey State Police violated a suspect's constitutional rights when troopers entered his driveway to attach a GPS tracker to his car under a warrant that only allowed them access to the man's vehicle, an appellate panel ruled Tuesday. The three-judge panel found officers violated state and federal constitutional protections by entering Maurice Johnson's driveway to attach the tracker because the communications data warrant they obtained for the device did not authorize them to enter the property. 'The [warrant] did not expressly authorize entry onto the driveway. Nor did the State Police seek prior judicial authorization to enter onto defendant's residential property when they abandoned the plan to install the device on a public street or parking lot,' the court wrote. The court granted Johnson's motion to suppress evidence gleaned from the improperly placed tracker. GPS data obtained from the tracker revealed a pattern of stops consistent with drug dealing, authorities said, and eventually led police to a storage unit in Johnson's name that held drugs, guns, and 'a substantial sum of money,' the court said. A lower court judge had rejected Johnson's request to toss the fruits of the communications data warrant, finding that the driveway was not afforded Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches because it was unfenced, unlike the rest of the parcel. The appeals court said the driveway, however accessible, was protected from unreasonable search and seizure. 'The fact the particular area where the subject vehicle was parked was not protected from the weather does not mean it was not protected from physical incursion under the United States and New Jersey Constitutions,' the panel wrote. The judges acknowledged that police can have an implied license to approach a home's front door — as any private citizen might — but said police officers veered away from the front door to plant the tracker, 'thus exceeding the spatial boundaries of any 'customary invitation' that might be granted to a visitor such as a delivery person.' An implied license, which allows people to, for example, knock on a front door or deliver a package without committing trespass, did not permit authorities to enter the driveway so they could put a tracker on Johnson's car, they added. 'Simply put, installing a concealed GPS device is not something a visitor or delivery person would be expected and permitted to do,' the court wrote. The state's arguments, which compared officers' actions to a private vehicle repossession, were unconvincing because the Fourth Amendment protects against state intrusion, not against private debt collectors, they added. Portions of the warrant that left the manner of the tracking device's installation to officers' discretion likewise did not allow them to enter the driveway because both state and federal constitutions require warrants to 'particularly describe' the locations they allow officers to search, the judges found. 'The [warrant's] reference to the need 'to minimize the chances of detection of the device by the person whose vehicle is the subject of this warrant' was not some kind of code authorizing physical entry onto unspecified private property,' the court wrote. Whether police sincerely believed the warrant allowed them to enter the driveway was irrelevant, the judges said. A lower court discarded findings from a separate search warrant that authorized officers to look through Johnson's home because officers did not knock and announce themselves before entering, as the warrant required. But the lower court declined to suppress evidence secured through the improperly applied GPS tracker. The drugs, guns, and money discovered in Johnson's storage unit formed the basis for the warrant authorizing a search of his home, according to Tuesday's ruling. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Yahoo
KU professor joins lawsuit to pressure New Jersey to allow DNA testing of Lindbergh evidence
Jonathan Hagel, an assistant professor of history at the University of Kansas, is among plaintiffs in a New Jersey lawsuit filed to compel opening of a documentary archives tied to the kidnapping and murder of aviator Charles Lindburgh's son. Hagel and other researchers seek permission to expose certain documents to modern DNA testing. (Submitted) TOPEKA — An assistant professor at the University of Kansas is a plaintiff in a New Jersey lawsuit seeking modern DNA testing of state archive materials tied to the kidnapping and murder of the infant son of trans-Atlantic aviator Charles Lindbergh. The 200-page Mercer County Superior Court suit was filed amid controversy about decisions by New Jersey State Police to block access to the case archive. The plaintiffs — KU historian Jonathan Hagel, author Catherine Read and retired teacher Michele Downie — said their Open Public Records Act request related the 1932 kidnapping was rejected. Hagel, a New Jersey native who has studied the Lindbergh case, said DNA analysis of ransom notes or envelopes could contribute to understanding whether Bruno Richard Hauptmann, who was executed in 1936 after convicted of first-degree murder, acted alone in the high-profile crime. It is among questions that have riveted scholars and investigators since Hauptmann's trial. 'There were more than a dozen ransom letters overall, and they were sent through the post,' said Hagel, a New Jersey native who has studied the Lindbergh case. 'If Hauptmann's DNA is on it, then he definitely is not innocent of being involved. But, if there is other DNA, that would confirm other people's involvement.' Twenty-month-old Charles Lindbergh Jr. was abducted from the family estate near Hopewell, New Jersey. The family was contacted through ransom notes and parcels, and a demand for $50,000 was paid. The toddler's remains were subsequently discovered adjacent to a roadside several miles from the Lindbergh home. 'There are those who think we're likely to find Charles Lindbergh's DNA on the materials,' Hagel said. 'They believe there was some kind of accident, and he orchestrated this as a way to deflect responsibility.' At least one previous lawsuit unsuccessfully sought to compel New Jersey to allow DNA testing of documents associated with the case. A state appellate court said New Jersey law didn't guarantee a public right to physically examine archive materials. In 2023, the State Police said access was restricted to preserve contents of case files. 'My take is that states or police organizations, like any bureaucracy, just like to protect their stuff,' Hagel said. 'There are others who think the state police are embarrassed they may have botched it quite badly and been involved in a railroading.'
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Yahoo
Salt Lake Police Officer charged with stalking ex-girlfriend
Charges are allegations only. All arrested persons are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (ABC4) — A current Salt Lake City Police Officer has been charged after being accused of stalking his ex-girlfriend. Todd Goodsell, 40, was charged with Stalking a Current or Former Cohabitant, a third-degree felony, on May 19, after allegedly stalking an ex-girlfriend he used to live with. According to court documents, the alleged victim broke up with Goodsell in November 2024. But he continued to reach out to her over various social media apps, using numerous profiles and at least 10 different phone numbers, including his work phone. Documents also show the victim told Goodsell several times to stop reaching out. The victim ended up blocking him on social media, moving to a new location and getting a new phone and email address. The Salt Lake County District Attorney notes in the documents that they believe there is clear evidence of danger to the alleged victim, citing concerning emails. The victim told Sandy Police she was concerned that the stalking would get worse and her life would be in danger and possibly end. The Salt Lake City Police Department released a statement on behalf of Chief Brian Redd, saying: 'The arrest of any police officer is a serious matter and is treated as such by our department. As with any person, this employee is entitled to due process under the law, as well as an administrative process that will determine whether any department or city policy or procedure violations occurred. We will respect and closely follow court proceedings. It is important to remember that an individual allegation does not define our department. Our employees consistently demonstrate professionalism, integrity, and a strong commitment to public service. I have full confidence that our employees will continue to carry out their duties with the professionalism and commitment our community expects and deserves.' Goodsell has been a Patrol Officer with SLCPD since 2019. He is currently on paid administrative leave. Latest Headlines: 15-year-old South Jordan girl missing since April found alive Salt Lake Police Officer charged with stalking ex-girlfriend Utah Valley's NCAA Tournament run ends with extra innings loss Good4Utah Road Tour: Hitting the water at Palisade State Park Man arrested for running through Green River on meth with machete, police say Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
