CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Investigators dug up the grave of the unidentified teen known as Boxcar Boy at Charlotte’s Elmwood Cemetery on Monday, betting that modern DNA work can put a name on a boy who has rested under a nickname since 1932.
The boy died inside a freight train car when steel beams shifted and crushed him. His identity and hometown have stayed a mystery ever since. Detectives with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department are now working the case with genetic researchers from Ramapo College of New Jersey.
The $11,000 cost of the dig came from a crowdfunding drive, and the work is privately paid for with no cost to local taxpayers. Gifts came from donors around the country.
Not much was left. Crews recovered the skull along with pieces of the jawbone and teeth, and spent the day sifting soil at the uptown cemetery for anything more. City cemetery operations director Bill Bibby said crews look for subtle shifts in the dirt’s color to find old burials.
The team plans to use investigative genetic genealogy, which pairs a DNA profile with family tree research to find possible relatives. Detective Matt Hefner of the department’s Homicide Cold Case Unit said the hope after 94 years is to return the boy to his family. Cold case detectives will reach out to any living relatives if a match turns up.
Researchers said they are hopeful for a firm identification by next year, though how fast it goes depends on whether usable DNA can be pulled from what was found. Officers from other agencies, including the FBI and Fayetteville police, came to watch and learn. If no name is found, the remains will go back into the ground at Elmwood with the soil that was removed.
Section: More Charlotte NC crime news
Filed under: Charlotte NC Public Safety News
