Nearly five decades after two hikers discovered a frozen body in a Pennsylvania cave, the man known only as “Pinnacle Man” has finally been identified.
The Berks County Coroner’s Office has confirmed the identity of 27-year-old Nicholas Paul Grubb of Fort Washington, Pennsylvania.
His remains were found in January 1977 near the Pinnacle, a popular peak with Appalachian Trail With an elevation of 1,629 feet.
The discovery closes a statewide mystery that has continued for nearly half a century.
“Over the past 15 years, state police detectives and coroner’s office investigators have matched Nicholas’ information through fingerprints and dental X-rays to no fewer than 10 missing persons,” Berks County Coroner John Fielding said in a statement.
The “Pinnacle Man” became a local legend, and his identity remained unknown despite periodic investigations by the state police and county coroner.
Grubb’s body was initially found by two hikers who had taken refuge in a small cave while battling inclement weather.
At that time, an autopsy determined that Grubb had died Drug overdose With no signs of foul play.
There were indications that he was unprepared for the harsh weather conditions of the trail due to his preferred light clothing and lack of camping supplies.
Forensic detectives also found evidence that he tried to start the fire to keep himself going.
However, officials were unable to identify him due to the condition of his body, his belongings and his dental records.
A set of fingerprints were taken during the autopsy, but were mysteriously misplaced, stalling further identification efforts.
Investigators periodically reviewed the case, exhuming her body in 2019, but DNA tests did not match the missing persons from Florida and Illinois.
For years, the case lingered in the background as one of Pennsylvania’s most enduring mysteries.
That’s when Pennsylvania state trooper Ian Keck made a remarkable discovery earlier this year: long-lost fingerprints from Grubb’s body during a preliminary autopsy.
Within one hour of submitting this printout to the National Missing and Identified Persons System, FBI fingerprint expert They are known as belonging to Grubb.
The match finally solved a decades-old mystery, confirming Grubb’s identity.
Grubb’s family, who had long wondered about his fate, were informed of the discovery.
They requested that his remains be placed in a family plot, bringing a sense of closure to a case that has haunted the region for nearly 50 years.
“Looking in our archives, it took some digging. Fortunately, going through the archives, along with the photos, there happened to be a fingerprint card,” Keck said at the coroner’s press conference.
“It’s bittersweet,” he continued. “The family has been searching for their loved one for 40 years, not knowing what happened to them. This is a small part of it for me, I’m glad I could help.”
This article includes an Associated Press report.
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