Discovered skeleton doesn't match missing man

By Associated Press
February 25, 2002

QUINCY, Mass. (AP) The skeletal remains of a murder victim found in a woodland area 11 years ago do not belong to a missing Italian man, a dental analysis shows.

A civilian dispatcher from the Quincy police department scoured missing persons reports for more than a decade and led investigators to the case of Josef Unterhuber. The 32-year-old disappeared somewhere in the United States in 1988 after his girlfriend rejected his marriage proposal.

The state's medical examiner's office said Unterhuber's dental records don't match the skeleton's teeth, The Patriot-Ledger of Quincy reported Monday.

A forensic dentist also used a photograph of a smiling Unterhuber to determine the skeleton was not his.

Unterhuber's height, age and wavy brown hair matched the skeleton's autopsy report. In addition, the skeleton and Unterhuber each had mended collarbone fractures.

Unterhuber's passport was found on a bench in Boston's South End in 1989.