A man whose body was found frozen in a Pennsylvania cave in 1977 has been identified by authorities after nearly five decades.
The Berks County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the body as Nicholas Paul Grubb, 27, of Fort Washington, Pennsylvania.
Authorities said they discovered the identity of the so-called “Pinnacle Man” after tracking down and matching Grubb’s fingerprints.
Grubb’s body was found frozen in a cave just below the Pinnacle in Albany Township, a hiking area 75 miles (122km) northwest of Philadelphia.
It ends a mystery that has lasted nearly 50 years, with multiple failed attempts to identify the frozen remains and an exhumation five years ago to obtain DNA samples.
Preliminary autopsy results determined that “Pinnacle Man” died of a drug overdose. Police have ruled out foul play.
Dental records and fingerprints were collected but no match was found.
It wasn’t until nearly half a century later, in August, that a Pennsylvania police detective was able to track down Grubb’s fingerprints, the Berks County coroner’s office said.
They then submitted the information to NamUs, a national missing persons database, and the FBI was able to identify Grubb in less than an hour.
The coroner’s office said the discovery highlighted the “significant effort” being made to identify unclaimed bodies.
They added that Pinnacle’s body had not been successfully matched to about 10 missing people in the past 15 years, and that exhumation of the body for DNA in 2019 had also yielded no similar results.
Officials said they were considering reburying his remains once his identity was discovered.
Grubb, known to his family as “Nicky,” served in the Pennsylvania National Guard, they said, and was honorably discharged in 1971.
The medical examiner’s office said his family “appreciates” efforts to identify him.
