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Man with tattoo of snake still unidentified 25 years after body burned in Detroit alley

Snake tattoo reached around his neck, appeared on both sides of chest

FILE -- Police tape. (WDIV)

DETROIT – A man still has not been identified 25 years after his body was found burned in a Detroit alley.

He was discovered on May 3, 1998. He is believed to have been an adult, but younger than 40 years old.

The man’s height, weight, hair color, and eye color could not be determined due to the state of his body.

The man had a tattoo of a snake, which reached around his neck and appeared on both sides of his chest.

He was found wearing a t-shirt, “Faded Glory” blue jeans, socks, and black and white “File” gym shoes.

Officials have confirmed that this is not the body of Mavrick Dwayne Thigpen, a man who has been missing since Nov. 15, 1998.

Anyone with information should contact the Detroit Police Department at 313-596-1800. The agency case number is HF 98-123.


Read: Michigan cold case coverage

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We’re working to bring attention to as many unsolved and missing persons cases from around the state as we can. Our hope is that getting this important information out to the public will help generate tips for investigators and potentially lead to closure for the affected families. If you have a cold case you’d like us to look into, please let us know by using the form below.


About the Author
Kayla Clarke headshot

Kayla is a Web Producer for ClickOnDetroit. Before she joined the team in 2018 she worked at WILX in Lansing as a digital producer.

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