Criminal Justice

John Doe Prisoner Is Identified, and He’s Not a Missing DA

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A John Doe prisoner in Utah is not a missing Pennsylvania district attorney declared dead on Monday.

Tipsters had alerted Utah police that the John Doe prisoner resembled missing Centre County District Attorney Ray Gricar, who disappeared six years ago. But the mystery prisoner has since been identified as a New Mexico man who had lost his job, report the Associated Press, Reuters and the Farmington Daily Times. He is identified as Philip Beavers, though news reports differ on the spelling of his first name.

Other tipsters suggested the John Doe prisoner could be slain Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald; the parachuting plane hijacker D.B. Cooper, or Alcatraz escapee Frank Morris, according to Lt. Dennis Harris of the Utah County Sheriff’s Office, who spoke to the Farmington Daily Times. Beavers was identified by a family member.

Hat tip to Lowering the Bar.

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