KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A man struck by a vehicle whose remains went unidentified in Knox County for more than 30 years has been identified, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
A vehicle struck the pedestrian May 24, 1993, along Cedar Bluff Road. The male had no identification and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the TBI.
An autopsy determined that the man was likely between the ages of 51 and 60, but officials were unable to identify him. KCSO investigators worked to identify the man using technology available in 1993, but after exhausting all leads the man was classified as a John Doe, the TBI said.
A DNA profile was developed and entered into CODIS and the National Missing Unidentified Persons System, but no developments occurred in the case, according to the TBI.
In Dec. 2022, the Knox County Regional Forensic Center submitted a sample of the man's remains to Othram Inc., a private Texas lab, to create a comprehensive DNA profile, the TBI said.
Othram scientists used forensic genetic genealogical (FGG) DNA testing to develop information about possible relatives connected to the man. Last month, with help from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the York County Sheriff’s Office in South Carolina, TBI agents used the information provided to locate and talk to a potential family member and obtain a familial DNA standard, according to the TBI.
Based on the DNA and forensic genealogy results, Othram scientists confirmed that the man was Elbert Louis Brown.
Brown was originally from the York area and family members last saw him in 1992. He was 52 years old and homeless at the time of his death, according to the TBI.