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Almost Solved · The public contribution
18 Missing Person Cases Where Public Input Helped
Public contributions helped establish identities and bring answers.
An established identity can leave other circumstances unresolved.
By Almost Solved · Sources reviewed
Public input helped move these eighteen cases toward an answer. A family appeal, a connection between records or a search gave investigators information they could test.
Choose a case to follow the contribution, the confirmed identification and the questions the sources leave open.
Section 01
Connections in the record
Record-based research begins with a possible connection. A name, a description or a family relationship can suggest a match worth examining. The next step is to preserve the source and establish whether the connection holds. These timelines show that progression from recognition to confirmation.
Barbara Hackmann Taylor
An online appeal from Barbara’s sister reached Todd Matthews. The connection led to DNA confirmation of her identity.[1]
Jason Callahan
Online attention helped acquaintances and Jason’s mother recognize a possible connection. Police investigation and DNA testing established the identity of the young man known as Grateful Doe.[2]
Marvin Price McMullen
A citizen contacted Butte County investigators using Doe Network information. Detectives pursued the proposed connection, and a family DNA comparison established Marvin’s identity in 2020.[3]
Elizabeth Ann Roberts
Firebird Forensics volunteers developed a genealogical lead. After further investigation and comparison, Snohomish County’s medical examiner formally identified Elizabeth on June 16, 2020.[4]
Section 02
Families and further searches
Families appear throughout this work as contributors of information, records and persistence. Sometimes they asked another team to search. Sometimes the essential contribution was a record that allowed a finding to be tested. The timelines make room for those roles as well as the recovery and identification work that followed.
Karen Schepers
Chaos Divers and Elgin police located Karen’s car in March 2025. Dental records supplied by her family helped the coroner confirm her identity on March 27.[5]
James Amabile
Contacted by James’s family, Adventures With Purpose found his submerged vehicle in March 2022. The medical examiner used dental records to identify him.[6]
Thelonious “Lamar” Green
Lamar’s family asked Chaos Divers for help. The team found his truck in July 2022; officials recovered it and the coroner confirmed his identity.[7]
Mary Lou Combs
Volunteer dive teams helped locate vehicle evidence, followed by an agency recovery operation. In June 2026, the sheriff’s office announced DNA confirmation of Mary Lou’s identity.[8]
Section 03
Discoveries beneath the water
A discovery and an identification are different steps. The stories below follow both: the search or unexpected finding, the response from authorities and the confirmation that connected what was recovered with a missing person. Keeping that sequence intact makes the public contribution easier to understand.
Robert Helphrey
Sunshine State Sonar notified detectives after locating his SUV in a pond. Deputies recovered the vehicle, and the medical examiner confirmed Robert’s identity in April 2023.[9]
Steven Willard Anderson
United Search Corps located a submerged vehicle in September 2024. DNA testing identified Steven; authorities announced the result in February 2025.[10]
Robert Long
Explorers With a Mission and Adventures With Purpose used sonar to locate a submerged vehicle in June 2025. Police announced Robert’s identification the following month.[11]
Yekaterina “Katya” Belaya
Sunshine State Sonar found her minivan in a Florida pond in December 2024. The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the remains were Katya’s.[12]
Steven MacKrell
Sunshine State Sonar’s search led to his car in a Boca Raton pond. A medical examiner confirmed his identity; the reporting distinguished that answer from the continuing investigation.[13]
Ralph Brown
Adventures With Purpose located Ralph’s vehicle on May 13, 2022. A deputy state medical examiner confirmed his identity on May 17.[14]
Timothy Robinson
A civilian vehicle-recovery effort led to an unexpected discovery. The remains were later identified as Timothy’s, as Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.[15]
Barry Coughlan
Volunteers testing sonar found Barry’s car in Crosshaven Harbour in May 2021. DNA confirmed his identity; an inquest later returned an accidental-death verdict.[16]
John Pisano Jr.
A Chaos Divers search for another person found remains in a submerged car. Cook County confirmed John’s identity in May 2026.[17]
Ethan Kazmerzak
Divers found Ethan’s car in October 2020. In November, the Franklin County sheriff confirmed the identity of the remains recovered with it.[18]
Which case are you working on?
Here’s where you come in. You may be following a podcast, returning to a case you cannot forget or trying to understand why two accounts describe an event differently. Start with one question that a document or a clearly attributed account could help answer.
Can you find the original notice behind a repeated date? Can you trace a reported observation to the person or agency that supplied it? Can you establish what was confirmed and what still needs checking?
Keep the exact links, your own notes and the questions you want to revisit together in a Research File in Almost Solved. An unanswered question is a useful place to begin; it should stay open until the record supports an answer.
Public input helped in these cases. Your next step can be a careful one: choose a timeline, follow its sources and keep track of what you learn. Information about someone’s whereabouts belongs with the investigating agency.
Download Almost Solved app today.Footnote references
- Carol Smith, Seattle PI, ‘Tent Girl,’ October 5, 2005; reviewed November 2, 2026.
- WTOP, December 12, 2015, and WTVR, December 9, 2015, Jason Callahan reports; reviewed November 2, 2026.
- Butte County Sheriff’s release, The Gridley News, August 13, 2020; reviewed November 2, 2026.
- Snohomish County Medical Examiner, Elizabeth Ann Roberts case history; reviewed November 2, 2026.
- Kane County Connects, Karen Schepers update, March 27, 2025; reviewed November 2, 2026.
- 6abc Digital Staff, James Amabile identification report, March 29, 2022; reviewed November 2, 2026.
- Charleston County Sheriff, July 10, 2022, and Dylan Leatherwood, WCSC, updated July 11, 2022; reviewed November 2, 2026.
- ClickOrlando, Mary Lou Combs reports, February 23 and June 25, 2026; reviewed November 2, 2026.
- Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, Robert Helphrey identification update, April 21, 2023; reviewed November 2, 2026.
- Associated Press, Anderson identification, February 12, 2025; reviewed November 2, 2026.
- News 12 Staff, Robert Long identification report, July 15, 2025; reviewed November 2, 2026.
- ClickOrlando, Yekaterina Belaya identification report, January 2, 2025; reviewed November 2, 2026.
- Michael Hoffman, WPTV, Steven MacKrell report; reviewed November 2, 2026.
- Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Ralph Brown updates, May 13 and 17, 2022; reviewed November 2, 2026.
- Oregon Public Broadcasting, divers and cold cases, May 22, 2022; reviewed November 2, 2026.
- Barry Roche, The Irish Times, Barry Coughlan inquest report, November 19, 2024; reviewed November 2, 2026.
- Patch, John Pisano Jr. identification report, May 20, 2026; reviewed November 2, 2026.
- KCRG, Ethan Kazmerzak reports, October 27 and November 5, 2020; reviewed November 2, 2026.