The Death of San Diego John Doe, January 1979

On Wednesday, January 31, 1979, a deceased young man was found lying on the ground at Gompers Park in San Diego, San Diego County, CA. The decedent is unidentified, and is known as John Doe. He had died recently that same year, and his face was recognizable at time of discovery, though a more specific postmortem interval (PMI) has not been released. The cause of death is not stated in any sources.

Gompers Park — officially Gompers Neighborhood Park — covers an area of 4.7 acres, and has a capacity of 250 people. It is located at 4926 Hilltop Drive in the Grantville neighborhood of San Diego, and is managed by the city.

John Doe was a white male who measured in at 5'10 and 164 lbs. His age group and range on NamUs are listed as "Adult - Pre 30" and 18 to 25 years old, respectively. He had brown hair and hazel eyes. A black-and-white photo of John Doe's face is available on NamUs.

John Doe was wearing the following clothing items: a white sock on his left foot; black undershorts; an undershirt; a red jacket; and maroon-colored trousers. Two black boots were on the ground near his left leg. A belt was "draped over the left knee area." The name "SKIP" was on the outside of the belt, and the initials "S/O" were on the outside of the belt buckle. John Doe also had a black comb on his body, possibly in one of his trouser pockets.

The availability of John Doe's dentals, fingerprints, and DNA for comparison is unknown. There are no MP exclusions listed on his NamUs page. Very little information is available in his case. His NamUs case, #UP99185, was created January 15, 2023 and last updated January 19, 2024.

Anyone with information regarding John Doe is urged to contact Investigator Kathy On of the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office at (858) 694-2895 or MxInvestigations@sdcounty.ca.gov. The agency case number is 1979-00247.

Those with information can also contact the San Diego Police Department at (619) 531-2000. Any little piece of information counts.

Sources 

NamUs     [WARNING: PM PHOTO]

Doe Network

Unidentified wiki

WebSleuths

Parks in San Diego 

Site plan of Gompers Park prior to 2024, pg 6 of pdf 

Note: I could not find any newspaper articles concerning John Doe.