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The Independent
4 days ago
- Science
- The Independent
Remains found washed up on Jersey shore identified as missing 19th-century boat captain
A decades-old cold case at the Jersey Shore has been cracked after experts confirmed that skeletal remains found on three beaches belong to a 19th-century ship captain. Undergraduate student researchers at Ramapo College of New Jersey used advanced DNA technology to determine that bones from a leg, arm and fragments of a cranium all belonged to Captain Henry Goodsell - who died at sea 181 years ago at age 29. The bones were found separately on Ocean City, Margate and Longport beaches between 1995 and 2013. New Jersey State Police turned them over to researchers at the college's Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center last year. "We kind of kept going back and forth between, are they historic? Are they not historic?' NJSP Forensic Anthropologist Dr. Anna Delaney told NBC New York. "This is absolutely amazing because after all of this time, Henry has his name." While examining New Jersey shipwreck records, students uncovered newspaper articles from December 20 and 24, 1844. They learned that the Oriental, captained Goodsell, was carrying five crew members and 60 tons of marble to Philadelphia for Girard College when it sank near Brigantine Shoal in 1844, killing everyone on board. Researchers traced Goodsell's genetic relatives back to the 1600s and built family trees, revealing ancestral ties to Connecticut. They eventually located Goodsell's great-great-granddaughter in Maryland, whose DNA sample confirmed the captain's identity. Goodsell's family said they do not want his remains, so they will stay at a state repository indefinitely. '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 in a news release. '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,' he added.
NBC News
4 days ago
- Science
- NBC News
Skeletal remains found at Jersey Shore identified as 19th century boat captain
There's been a break in 30-year-old cold case mystery at the Jersey Shore after experts confirmed skeletal remains found on three beaches belonged to a 19th-century boat captain. The bones from a leg, arm and fragments of a cranium discovered on the beaches of Ocean City, Margate and Longport between 1995 and 2013 had yielded no answers until now. Authorities said the remains belong to 29-year-old Captain Henry Goodsell, who died at sea 181 years ago. Advances in DNA technology first tied the bones to the same person after cold case detectives with the state police turned to the Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center at Ramapo College of New Jersey last year. 'Our job was to figure out who that individual was that the bones belonged to,' Cairenn Binder of the college's IGG Center said. Initially, experts weren't even sure how old the bones were. 'We kind of kept going back and forth between, are they historic? Are they not historic?' New Jersey State Police Forensic Anthropologist Dr. Anna Delaney said. 'This is absolutely amazing because after all of this time, Henry has his name.' Students at the school launched a search for genetic relatives and built out family trees that revealed ancestral ties to Connecticut. They also started looking into records of shipwrecks. It was that creative step that really helped them narrow in on the person's identity. 'Delving into those they identified this ship, which then led to the ship captain,' Ramapo's IGG Center Director David Gurney explained. Goodsell was the captain of the Oriental which was a schooner that was transporting marble from Connecticut to Philadelphia for Girard College in 1844. But, on that voyage, the Oriental went down just off of the coast of Brigantine and the entire crew was killed. Investigators were able to track down Goodsell's great-great-granddaughter in Maryland. She provided a DNA sample that did confirm the captain's identity. 'To our knowledge, this is the oldest case that's ever been solved with investigative genetic genealogy,' Binder said.
Fox News
6 days ago
- Health
- Fox News
Mysterious bones that washed up on Jersey Shore finally identified 180 years after tragedy
Bones that mysteriously washed up on the Jersey Shore over the past three decades were recently identified, thanks to cutting-edge technology and diligent students. Ramapo College announced the discovery in a May 21 press release. The remains were identified as belonging to Henry Goodsell, a captain who died in an 1844 shipwreck off the coast of South Jersey's Brigantine Shoal. (See the video at the top of this article.) The ship was carrying 60 tons of marble for Girard College, a preparatory school, when it sprung a leak and sank. Goodsell's bones didn't wash up until over a century later, when they were found on various beaches in the Garden State. "A skull washed ashore in Longport in 1995, and more bones were found in Margate in 1999, both in Atlantic County," Ramapo College's statement noted. "In 2013, additional remains were found in Ocean City, Cape May County." "Scattered Man John Doe went without a name for 30 years since traditional methods of investigation could not deliver an identification." Cairenn Binder, assistant director of the Ramapo College Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG) Center, told Fox News Digital that her team conducted traditional DNA testing to find a matching profile in the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), a national DNA profile database. "More identifications like these will be made now that we have advances in technology." "While there was no missing person sample on file that matched with the profiles from the bones, the bones all matched one another, so that's how [the New Jersey State Police] learned they were all connected before we began working on the case," she said. Over the past several months, Ramapo students have gleaned various details about Goodsell's life from old newspapers. He was 29 years old when he died, and his ancestors were among the earliest settlers in Connecticut. "Capt. Goodsell's ancestors lived in Litchfield and Fairfield Counties in Connecticut and had all been there since the 1600s – some of the earliest European Americans," Binder said. "He was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, but lived in Boston from at least the late 1830s." Goodsell also left behind a wife and two children when he perished; his family was financially devastated by the shipwreck. "The news reported that his family was left in 'very embarrassed' circumstances after the captain's death," Binder said. "There was a fundraiser held for Capt. Goodsell's widow a year after his death," she also said. Reports were that "she was destitute." Five or six other crew members were on the vessel, Binder noted, and all of them are believed to have died. One was found and buried while the others were lost at sea. Binder described the discovery as "extremely rare," noting that Ramapo researchers have not been able to find an older case where IGG was used to successfully identify remains. "There are a handful of cases where remains more than 100 years old have been identified with IGG, but this is the oldest we have been able to find," she said. "We believe that more identifications like these will be made now that we have the advances in technology to make them happen," she added. Authorities from various New Jersey law enforcement offices were also involved in the research. In a statement, Cape May County prosecutor Jeffrey Sutherland said the same technology is used to "bring offenders to justice." CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP" "The hard work of Ramapo College's IGG Center and working with the New Jersey State Police Cold Case Unit has demonstrated the power and accuracy of this new technology combined with classic detective work in solving complex cold cases that will bring offenders to justice and provide closure to victims' families," he noted.
Miami Herald
24-05-2025
- General
- Miami Herald
Bones that washed up on New Jersey beaches are identified as the captain of a 19th-century ship traveling to Philly
PHILADELPHIA - Skeletal remains that washed up on several South Jersey beaches starting in 1995 have been identified as a 19th-century ship captain who was commanding a schooner bound for Philadelphia at the time of his death, bringing an end to a three-decade mystery. The remains were those of 29-year-old Henry Goodsell, who died in the wreck of a ship dubbed the "Oriental" off the coast of Brigantine in 1844, the Ramapo College Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center said in a statement. The schooner was transporting about 60 tons of marble to be used in the construction of Girard College when it went down, according to reports from the time. Goodsell's remains began washing ashore in 1995, when his skull was discovered on a beach in Longport, Atlantic County. More bones were discovered in Margate in 1999, and additional remains washed up in Ocean City, Cape May County, in 2013. Due to their wide dispersal, the remains came to be known as "Scattered Man John Doe," a nickname that stuck for years as investigators failed to determine their owner's identity. But in 2023, the New Jersey State Police partnered with Ramapo College's genealogy center in Mahwah to crack the case. The center sent a sample to a forensics lab, which later uploaded its results to genealogy databases. As part of that effort, Ramapo genealogy students found ancestral ties for the remains dating back to the 1600s in Connecticut. The students also began investigating reported shipwrecks off the New Jersey coast, and found the wreck of the Oriental referenced in two newspaper reports from the time - one in the York Democratic Press, and another in the Boston Daily Bee. According to those reports, the Oriental began its journey from Connecticut to Philadelphia in December 1844. Onboard were five crew members, along with the marble slated for Girard College, when the ship began to leak. It sank about a mile from the shoreline off the coast of Brigantine Shoal, killing everyone aboard. The ship sank on Dec. 4, 1844, according to records maintained by the New Jersey Maritime Museum. Only one crew member's body, a man named John Keith, was discovered following the wreck, the Boston Daily Bee reported at the time. It was not clear how the wreck impacted Girard College, which was under construction when the Oriental went down. The school opened in 1848, and by June 1845 - six months after the wreck - work on the facility was "proceeding with a considerable degree of activity," according to a Public Ledger report from the time. Following the students' discoveries, New Jersey police in March collected a genetic sample from one of Goodsell's great-great grandchildren. Authorities confirmed Goodsell's identity in early April, bringing an end to the mystery, which is considered to be among the oldest cold cases solved using investigative genetic genealogy, Ramapo College said. "Identifying human remains is one of the most solemn and challenging responsibilities law enforcement is charged with," said Patrick Snyder, chief of county detectives 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 students' work, Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffrey Sutherland said, not only identified Goodsell, but revealed a piece of local history, and showed how genetic genealogy techniques can be used in solving difficult cases. The work of the college and New Jersey State Police "has demonstrated the power and accuracy of this new technology combined with classic detective work in solving complex cold cases that will bring offenders to justice and provide closure to victim's families," he said. Goodsell's case, however, is not the first that Ramapo College's genealogy center has been a part of. The center, in fact, has consulted on some 92 cases, including identifying the partial remains of Maria Quinones Garcia, which were discovered in Pohatcong Township, N.J., in 2017, three years after she went missing from Allentown. ______ Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Bones Began Washing Up on New Jersey Beaches 30 Years Ago. How College Students Helped Solve the Mystery
New Jersey college students helped solve the mystery of the skeletal remains that washed ashore at a series of local beaches between 1995 and 2013 New Jersey State Police worked with the Ramapo College of New Jersey Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center to identify the remains Authorities have announced that the bones belong to a 19th century schooner captain who died in a shipwreckA group of New Jersey college students helped identify skeletal remains that began washing ashore at a series of local beaches 30 years ago. Authorities announced on Wednesday, May 21, that the bones have been identified as belonging to captain Henry Goodsell, who died at 29 alongside all of his crew members about 180 years ago. 'Identifying human remains is one of the most solemn and challenging responsibilities law enforcement is charged with,' Chief of County Detectives Patrick Snyder at the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office said in a statement. '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.' Of course, unraveling the mystery took decades. The remains initially known as "Scattered Man John Doe" began appearing in 1995. First, a skull washed ashore in Longport, and then years later, more bones were found in 1999 and 2013 in Margate and Ocean City. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. In the fall of 2023, state police began working with the Ramapo College's Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center. That November, officials sent a sample to Intermountain Forensics, a nonprofit organization that uploaded the information to a variety of different databases the following February. After that, Ramapo College students began diving in to help, including by looking up historic shipwrecks around the New Jersey coast. As part of their research, according to the press release, they found two newspaper articles from December 1844 detailing a shipwreck of 19th century schooner Oriental, which sank off the coast of Brigantine Shoal on its way from Connecticut to Philadelphia. A newspaper clipping suggested the ship, which was trying deliver 60 tons of marble for Girard College. likely leaked and sank less than a mile from shore. Armed with evidence, the students sent Goodsell's information to the New Jersey State Police, who collected a family reference sample in March 2025 from one of his great-great grandchildren. Police confirmed his identity on April 8, 2025. 'Using modern genealogy testing to identify bone fragments from the 19th century is a powerful reminder of our unwavering commitment to resolving cases no matter how old,' New Jersey State Police Superintendent Colonel Patrick J. Callahan said in a statement. He added, "The ability to bring answers to families — even generations later — shows how far science and dedication can take us.' Read the original article on People
