The Salem Tourism Board has agreed to pick up all the expenses to exhume the unidentified victim of the 1971 Tonti Train Wreck in hopes of learning his or her identity through new DNA technology.
Salem resident and University of Missouri at Columbia Journalism Student Henry Morton made the request for up to $4,250. Morton explained the cost may not be that much depending on how many genealogy data bases are used to try and match the DNA of the unidentified person.
Morton earlier appeared before the Salem City Council to explain the project and received a favorable response if the money to complete the project could be found. Morton will now go back before the city council next Monday in hopes of finalizing the project.
“I’m really excited about this, and it seems like it’s really going to happen,” Morton said. “It will probably happen pretty soon, from what I can tell. I just hope that we’re able to make this whole thing work, and we’re able find this person’s family and bring closure to them; that’s the most important thing. I think it’s going to work out, and I think this is going to be big.”
Morton is hopeful the body can be exhumed in May to begin the project he hopes can be completed over his summer break. Morton has secured the help of the DNA Doe Project whose mission is to identify John and Jane Does. Executive Director Jennifer Randolph along with Anthropologist Amy Michaels have agreed to come to Salem at their cost to oversee the project at no expense. The Crouse Funeral Home will donate their facilities to house the body during the process to obtain the DNA.
The tourism board was unanimous in its support and in complementing Morton on the detail he has gone to outline the project and needed funds.
“I look forward to seeing, hopefully we bring closure to the family, and hopefully we bring eyes to Salem,” said Tourism Board Chair Jacob Hockett.
Right now, the gravestone in East Lawn Cemetery reads ‘unidentified victim, Tonti Train wreck, June 10th, 1971. Deputy Coroner Gene Earl said at the time the identity was impossible to determined in any way, including age, sex of race because the body was badly mangled, nearly decapitates and stripped of most of its flesh. The unknown person was one of 11 killed when the train derailed.
