Facial approximation of John Clinton Doe.
The Rock County Sheriff's Department said that this image was a "possible" Department of Corrections photo.
Image take from Rock County Sheriff's Office press release to illustrate the logo on the back of Isaacs Jr.'s shirt.
Rock County Sheriff's Office said Carl Isaacs Jr. was found near Turtle River in Rock County.
Actual image of goat pendant Isaacs Jr. was wearing
JANESVILLE (WKOW) — Skeletal remains found along a Wisconsin creek 27 years ago were finally identified thanks to the work of the Rock County Sheriff's Office, the DNA Doe Project and the University of North Texas – Center for Human Identification.
The Rock County Sheriff's Department announced Tuesday that the remains belong to Carl J. Isaacs Jr., a 20-year-old male from Delevan, Wisconsin.
The case began back in 1995 when skeletal remains were found in a rural, wooded area along Turtle Creek near Clinton, Wisconsin.
Rock County Sheriff's Office said Carl Isaacs Jr. was found near Turtle River in Rock County.
Authorities said the remains were found clothed in a plaid flannel shirt, a black t-shirt featuring the metal band Venom's upside-down star logo and camouflage pants. He was also wearing a chrome pendant of a goat head with horns.
Image take from Rock County Sheriff's Office press release to illustrate the logo on the back of Isaacs Jr.'s shirt.
Actual image of goat pendant Isaacs Jr. was wearing
The autopsy determined the remains belonged to a white male with straight brown hair. It was estimated that he was 15 to 23 years of age, which fell in line with estimates from dental exams. Authorities estimated that he had been dead for around one year.
Though we now know him as Carl Isaacs Jr., at this time, he was only know as John Clinton Doe.
Once the body was found, investigators combed through missing person reports, but Isaacs Jr. was never reported as missing. They also checked accident and missing vehicle reports. The investigation then went deeper, covering decades and a myriad of formal and informal records like DOT records and area yearbooks.
The search gained traction when isotopic analysis was done on the remains by the Smithsonian, and based on the chemical composition of the bones, it was determined the remains belonged to someone from the Midwest. Then in June 2014, the FBI created a facial approximation.
Facial approximation of John Clinton Doe.
A major breakthrough in the case happened June 2018 when Detective Corene Bilhorn and Jack Friess, a private investigator who had been working on the case since 2013, contacted the DNA Doe Project — an all-volunteer organization that identifies John and Jane Does — for help in identifying the remains.
In 2019, DNA samples were gathered from John Doe's potential half-siblings and analyzed. By May 2021, his potential father was exhumed and DNA samples from him were gathered. All the samples were then compared, and the Rock County Sheriff's Department confirmed his identity in May 2022.
The Rock County Sheriff's Department said that this image was a "possible" Department of Corrections photo.
Now that Isaacs Jr. has been identified, officials say their next step is to learn more about him and how he found himself in the Rock County area.
To this end, the Sheriff's Office is currently conducting interviews with family members and others who may be associated with Isaacs Jr., but they provided no further information on what has been learned.
The Sheriff's Office said the case will be a challenging one because of the passage of time, but they said the entire case to date has been challenging.
And even in face of that, Carl Isaacs Jr. now has a name after 27 years of hard work.
The Rock County Sheriff's Office is now looking for the public's help. If you have information regarding this case, contact the Rock County Sheriff's Office tip line at 608-757-7911. Refer to case 95-7116.
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