A man found dead in Chatham County more than 40 years ago is now believed to be identified, thanks to a statewide program that uses genetic testing.

A release from the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday said a case from February 1981, where an unnamed body was found in Pittsboro, has advanced thanks to DNA sequencing and research by the NC Unidentified Project. The initiative, founded in 2020, aims to raise funding for assistance on unidentified person cases and to provide means for genetic analysis and extraction.

Early investigation into the 1981 case was challenged by little information or basic clues, according to the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office. But the NC Unidentified Project now believes the body is that of Alexander “Alex” Brown, Jr., a man reported missing from Baltimore, MD, in December 1978. Expert medical examination confirmed the identity as well.

Alexander “Alex” Brown Jr. (Photo via the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office/The Brown Family.)

The local sheriff’s office said Leslie Kaufman, who is a forensic genealogist and co-founder of the NC Unidentified Project, revealed the name to investigators and drew quite a response.

“The excitement in the room was palpable,” Lieutenant Sara Pack of the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office said in the release. “It was incredible to finally have a fresh lead after hitting so many dead ends. Hearing [Kaufman] announce his name was an emotional moment for all of us, especially as we imagined Brown’s family and the prospect of providing them with some semblance of closure after forty-three years.”

Tuesday’s release said that Brown, Jr. is now the fifth victim to be positively identified by the NC Unidentified Project so far. There are eight more sponsored cases the initiative is trying to identify.

“I have worked on criminal cases all over the country,” Kaufman said, “but cases involving unidentified bodies really speak to my heart. These men and women deserve to have their names known and their stories told…that’s what drives me to do what I do.”

The Chatham County Sheriff’s Office said now that Brown’s body is identified, the investigation hopes to pick up steam.

“Identifying the victim has given us a new launch point and fresh leads to follow,” said Chatham County Sheriff Mike Roberson. “We are endlessly grateful for all of the hard work and partnerships that led to this amazing revelation. We are hopeful that such technology will lead to similar breakthroughs in other unsolved cases.”

The Chatham County Sheriff’s Office is now asking other members of the public to partner in the search for answers surrounding Brown’s disappearance and untimely death. Anyone with information about this decades-old case, including Brown’s disappearance or murder, is asked to call the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office at 919-542-2911.

 

Photo via WNCT.

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