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Man found dead in NE Ohio identified 18 months later
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BROOKLYN, Ohio (WJW) — It took authorities 18 months to identify a man's body found on train tracks in Northeast Ohio.
The body was discovered on November 14, 2023, by the Brooklyn Police Department, just west of the Tiedeman Road overpass. Officials, at the time, said there were no signs of foul play.
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After the unidentified body was found, authorities said they searched missing persons reports from multiple local and state municipalities. They also placed DNA samples into a national database, but had no luck finding a match.
The effort to identify the man continued with Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost requesting the public's help by releasing a post-mortem image.
It was almost a year and a half later, in April 2025, officials said a family member of the decedent contacted the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's Office to see if the decedent was a familial match. The following day, on April 25, 2025, authorities said the man's identification was confirmed through X-rays to be 27-year-old Nathaniel Dabrowski of Brooklyn.
'An identity restored cannot bring a loved one back, but it can provide a measure of closure amid the search for answers,' said Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost in a press release. 'My thanks to the dedicated investigators who used every tool at their disposal to reunite Nathaniel with his family.'
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'It is always satisfying to identify an individual after a period of time has passed. It provides closure to families, and I would like to thank the many members of the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's Office and the Ohio BCI staff for their efforts and support. We never stop trying to reunite our unknown decedents with their families. On behalf of everyone involved, we offer our condolences to the Dabrowski family,' said Dr. Gilson.
In May 2024, the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner ruled the cause of death was 'craniofacial blunt force injuries.'
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