DNA finds 43-Year-Old missing person identity

When he submitted DNA samples to an ancestry research organization back in 2015 as part of his work on genealogy for the family tree, part-time Porterfield resident Allen Grasser never dreamed his hobby of detailing family history would lead to discovering the fate of his brother, Norman, who had disappeared without a trace 43 years ago.

Thanks to the DNA samples, Allen Grasser was informed by investigators in May of 2023 that a body found in a field near Rhinelander on March 19, 1980 and buried there as a “John Doe” victim of hypothermia, was that of his missing brother.

Allen said his brother was 31 years old when he disappeared. He was unmarried, had served a brief time with the United States Navy. Norman, like other members of their family lived in Chicago. Family members had reported him missing to Chicago police. 

On Friday, Feb. 23 of this year, a Rhinelander judge approved Allen’s request to have his brother’s body exhumed and cremated so his remains can be interred with those of their mother on the family grave site in Illinois on Wednesday, March 20, which would have been his 76th birthday.

Allen said learning the fate of his brother has brought closure for him, as the last remaining member of their immediate family. He said their mother never stopped grieving for her missing son and never stopped wondering what had become of him. “I’ve waited 43 years for this,” he declared.

He said no one even knew that Norman had come to northern Wisconsin on the weekend that he went missing.

Allen still lives near Chicago, but spends much time at the Porterfield farm, which he now owns. The old homestead property is located along the Peshtigo River near the junction of Grasser Road and County E. The land was purchased by his grandfather, Michael Grasser, from the Peshtigo Lumber Company on July 21, 1902.

Allen said his father, Cyril Gasser, one of the nine children of Micael Gasser, had attended the one-room school in Porterfield and then studied for a year at the old Teacher’s College in Marinette, hitching rides to and from school aboard passing freight trains.

His uncle, Everist Grasser, had run the farm for 40 years, and was one of the first volunteer firemen on the Porterfield Fire Department. 

DNA testing is a relatively new science that was discovered by British researchers in 1984. It was DNA testing that led to solving the 1976 “cold case” Marinette County McClintock Park murders in 2019.

Allen said one of his hobbies is researching the Grasser family tree, a project started by his missing brother. In connection with this project, in 2015 he had sent a sample of his own DNA to find out what his ethnicity was, never dreaming that sample would lead eventually to discovering the fate of his missing brother.

According to a national news release, in recent months advanced forensic DNA testing and a great deal of research had allowed investigators to confirm the man’s identity as Norman Grasser of Chicago, found in a field in the Town of Pine Lake on March 19, 1980.

At the time the body was found an autopsy performed at the UW-Madison had determined hypothermia was the cause of death.

Fingerprints were sent to the State Crime Laboratory as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation for possible identification, with negative matches. Investigators said over time, this case continued to be investigated through missing person's report follow-ups and press releases.

Investigation continued intermittently, particularly as new methods were developed. In 2019, the unidentified man was entered into “NamUs”, which is a national database for missing and unidentified and unclaimed person cases across the United States. Multiple possible matches were generated and followed up with negative matches.

In April of 2021, as part of her effort to solve cold cases, Oneida County Medical Examiner Crystal Schaub had the body exhumed and taken to the Fond du Lac Medical Examiner’s Office to be processed for DNA collection. Once this was completed, the collected items were sent to the FBI Laboratory in Quantico for DNA profiling. Schaub also was working with Oneida County Sheriff Detective Sgt. Brian Barbour.

The Department of Genetic Genealogy at Ramapo College of New Jersey Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center was seeking cases in northeast Wisconsin for students to help solve as part of their work and learning. They approached Oneida County law enforcement in regard to the “John Doe” later identified as Norman Grasser. Students performed forensic DNA testing and did a genealogy search that resulted in the identification.

“A list of genetic matches or genetic associations of the individual, which could be anything from a sibling or parent or child to a fifth or sixth cousin, are what we use to reverse engineer the family tree,” said Cairenn Binder, Assistant Director of the Investigative Genetic Genealogy Program in at Ramapo College in New Jersey, adding that it had taken time to narrow down the matches.

“In this case, there were dozens of matches built out, but then a new match showed up that was a very close match, who sort of sealed the deal,” said Binder. The DNA submitted by Allen in 2015 was a match.

Binder said another aspect that helped this case was Grasser ethnicity. There are more individuals of Western European decent in the data bases, so matches are more likely to be found for them.

Since students solved this case, Binder felt it only made sense for them to be present when they broke the news that their work had been successful.

“Students got to be on that call and we watched their mouths drop open when we’re giving them the news and when they got to see the picture of Mr. Grasser,” said Binder. “...the only thing more rewarding than giving answers to the family is giving answers to the law enforcement agency.”

The students have identified four people so far and right now are working with Oneida County to help identify a man found in Harshaw in 2000.

Allen was asked to speak at the Ramapo Investigative Genetic Genealogy (RIGG) Conference in June of this year, along with Traci Onders, the student who discovered Norman’s identity. “The reason I am doing this is for closure,” Allen said, adding that he had been told their conferences in the past have addressed the scientific aspect of identity searches, but not the human, emotional impact to the family. 

“This is getting national attention,” Allen said. Kristen Thorne, of ABC News in New York has invited him to do an interview but nothing has been confirmed yet.