On September 9, 2021, a motorist walked his dog along Highway 101 just south of the intersection with Covelo Road. The traveler’s walkabout took a grisly turn when they unexpectantly came upon human remains.
The advanced state of decomposition and lack of evidence at the scene left authorities with little to go on. The body was a tall, twenty-something male with long brown hair. Notably, the man died wearing various items of women’s clothing and a book associated with the occult was lying nearby the body.
Nearly two years after John Doe was found, he has a name: 27-year-old Thaddeus Keegan Bradley from San Antonio, Texas.
A press release from the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office states detectives submitted a DNA sample from John Doe to the California Department of Justice Jan Bashinski Laboratory. Last week, scientists found a match.
MCSO submitted an entry to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System providing the limited information authorities gathered. The entry also included photographs of where John Doe was found, the clothing he wore, and notable items at the scene. Now that John Doe has a name, the entry in NAMUS has been deleted
An MCSO coroner’s investigation concluded the 27-year-old man’s death was accidental and linked to acute methamphetamine toxicity.
The Arcata Police Department had taken a missing persons report from Bradley’s mother in July 2021. At the time, he was known to be living a transient lifestyle. Two months later, he was found dead under a Mendocino County bridge.
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Who took this picture anyway?