A hunter discovered partial skeletal remains in a shallow, disturbed grave on Medicine Mountain in Pennington County, South Dakota, west of Hill City, in the fall of 1978. Additional bones, including the pelvis, were recovered in the days following the initial find, and some remains, including one or both hands, were never located. The remains belonged to a male estimated to be 15 to 21 years old, standing approximately 5-foot-7 to 6-foot-1, of muscular build. Examination determined he had undergone a medical procedure on his lower left leg roughly four months before death and had bone overgrowth on his left hip that may have required treatment. No clothing or personal items were recovered with him. Investigators initially estimated the remains had been in the grave from several months up to three years, later narrowing that estimate to about one year, placing the death in late 1977 or early 1978.
The case is investigated by the Pennington County Sheriff's Office, which worked with forensic pathologists in Colorado on early analysis and determined the decedent was likely a teenager of Native American descent, though white ancestry could not be excluded at the time. In August 1979, a clay facial reconstruction produced with assistance from medical illustrators in Oklahoma City was distributed to South Dakota media; the leads it generated were investigated and excluded. In August 1980, the sheriff's office distributed flyers regionally, including to Native American health centers in several states, generating additional leads that were also excluded. The case is entered in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System as UP114536 (Pennington County Sheriff's Office case #79-4). Investigative genetic genealogy testing has since indicated the decedent was of Sioux descent with ancestral ties to South Dakota, and the South Dakota Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Office has coordinated family DNA collection to assist with identification. Two missing persons have been formally excluded as matches: Edward Ulver and Jewel Paul Wheeler. The case remains open. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Pennington County Sheriff's Office.
