Joseph Anthony Stuart (NamUs #29973) - 2nd attempt

By: Shane Lambert

Almost two years ago I made an attempt at NamUs MP #29973, an individual named Joseph Anthony Stuart who has not been seen since September 6th, 1991. I considered Stuart as a possible match for NamUs UP #7582 but the match was ruled out based on dental comparisons. Otherwise, a lot of things aligned between the John Doe and the Missing Person #29973: they had similar demographics and the John Doe was found along one possible route that Stuart, the missing person, might have traveled to get to Reno. Word was that he was heading that way to look into a job prospect.

The rule out, as always, was final the moment it came back to me: it's hard to argue with something like dental comparisons. They and fingerprinting used to be sacred in identifying human remains in the era before DNA. But I think I found another candidate for a rule-out attempt on Joseph Anthony Stuart: NamUs UP #2294. Firstly, here's a recap of Stuart's demographics and circumstances.

• He was last seen on September 6th, 1991
• He was 35 years old at the time of his disappearance
• He was a white male
• He was 68" inches, which is 5'8"
• His hair color was brown and his eyes were blue
• He was last seen in Fullerton, California
• His landlord reported him missing on September 26th, 1991
• He seemed to participate in suicidal ideation
• He had told the landlord that he was going fishing
• On September 6th, 1991 Stuart also told a friend that he was going to Reno for an employment prospect

It's the route to Reno, or routes, that have interested me. Earlier tonight, I was reminded of Stuart's case when I looked at NamUs UP #2294. That's mainly because the reconstruction of UP #2294 actually reminded me of the reconstruction of UP #7582. When I looked at the profiles I began to wonder if it could be Stuart.

NamUs UP #2294

UP #2294 was found on July 8th, 2008. He has been ruled-out already against eight different individuals with birthdates ranging from 1950 to 1978. That big range is a pretty big clue that they don't know the UP's age and NamUs suggests that it's anywhere between 25 and 45 years old. For starters, Stuart is dead-smack in the middle of that range which seems promising.

UP #2294 is described this way at NamUs: "a white male adult, estimated to be between 25 and 45 years of age. It is estimated that he was born between 1955 and 1973. He died sometime between 1989 and 1998. The victim is estimated to have stood between 5'6" and 5'9"."

The race and sex match to Stuart. The estimated date of birth matches to Stuart and the estimated date of death is in the range that would match up to Stuart's disappearance and, maybe, his death date. Furthermore, Stuart was 5'8" and that is in the John Doe's height range. 

The John Doe, NamUs UP #2294, was found near highway 15. He was buried and skeletonized. The clothes that he had do not match Stuart's last-known clothes but clothes change all the time. Importantly, this John Doe was found on a route that one might take between Fullerton and Reno. 

The image below shows that I searched for directions between Fullerton and Reno. The blue line is the route that one could take. I didn't include Reno in the map snip because I wanted to include a close-up of the area that the decedent was found in. If you see where it says "Lytle Creek" in the top-right quadrant, that is near where the John Doe was found.

That means there is an alignment between Stuart and the John Doe in several ways:

1. Age
2. Sex
3. Race
4. Height
5. Estimated date of death for the Doe vs. Stuart's disappearance date
6. Stuart could be placed in the area if his friend's comment that he was going to Reno from Fullerton is taken to be accurate.

They have dentals for the UP and I know they have Stuart's because they were a rule-out criterion the last time I submitted. I think I will submit this John Doe again and will let you know how it goes with an update.