Associated Press

October, 2003

HENDERSON, Ky. — A Western Kentucky man whose body was identified as a murder victim in Vermont, ending a nearly two-decade mystery about his disappearance, was buried yesterday.

Roger G. Jeffreys of Clay was 22 when he left home in September 1984 to go to Canada with a stranger he met while hitchhiking. A few days later, Jeffreys called his mother from Maryland and told her he would call again in a few days. He was never heard from again.

His whereabouts were a mystery for more than 18 years. Then in January the Vermont State Police issued a statement identifying Jeffreys as the person found dead in November 1985 in a wooded area in Glover, Vt. Authorities ruled it a homicide.

His body was identified through a tattoo, as well as evidence of a broken arm he sustained as a child. Jeffreys' relatives flew to Vermont on Monday to claim his body and return it to Henderson for burial.

Angie Herron, Jeffreys' sister, said the trip as "emotional but gratifying. We feel like we finally conquered this battle."

Family members traveled to Vermont in February after being told to claim the body. But the medical examiner decided not to release it until a DNA test was performed. Earlier this month the test confirmed that the remains were Jeffreys'.

Last year Jeffreys' relatives were told about a Web site, doenetwork.org, through which they were able to distribute information about him nationwide. A few days later the family was contacted by Vermont State Police, who had been unable to identify the body found in Glover.