The identity of a man found frozen to death in a Pennsylvania cave has finally been revealed, bringing to an end a nearly 50-year mystery.
The missing man's body has been identified by the Berks County Coroner's Office as that of Nicholas Paul Grubb, 27, of Fort Washington, Pennsylvania.
Grubb has long been known as “Pinnacle Man,” a nickname referring to the peak in the Appalachian Mountains near where two hikers found his body on Jan. 16, 1977.
An autopsy at the time found no signs of foul play, and authorities determined he died of a drug overdose. The New York Times reported.
However, Grubb's body could not be identified based on his appearance, possessions, clothing, or dental information, and fingerprints taken during the examination were later lost, leaving investigators with only a sketch of Grubb's likeness.
“State police detectives and coroner's office investigators have periodically reinvestigated this case over the past 15 years and compared his information through fingerprints and dental x-rays to at least 10 other missing persons,” Berks County Coroner John Fielding told reporters.
In August 2019, after dental records linked her to two missing persons cases in Florida and Illinois, Grubb's body was exhumed and taken to a Reading hospital to be examined by a forensic anthropologist, a forensic pathologist and a forensic odontologist.
The DNA samples did not match either missing persons case, but in August of this year, Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Ian Keck found Grubb's lost fingerprints.
Within an hour of submitting the card to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), an FBI fingerprint expert matched it to Grubb's.
A family member identified him and requested the Berks County Coroner's Office have his body interred in the family cemetery.
“This identification provides much-needed resolution for the families, who have been notified and have expressed their deep gratitude for the collaborative effort that has made this possible,” Fielding said.
“It is moments like these that remind us of the importance of our work to provide answers, bring closure and give names and stories to the unidentified.”
