‘Distinct tattoos’ help identify Texas man found dead 22 years ago in Alabama river
Several “distinct tattoos” served as clues to help deputies identify the body of a man found floating in a South Alabama river more than 20 years ago.
The man, previously known as “Seminole Doe,” was discovered on March 26, 2000, in the Styx River near the city of Seminole, according to the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office. Investigators couldn’t identify him at the time, and his identity remained a mystery — until now.
Forensic testing confirmed the man was Daniel Muniz Jr. of Texas, who had been estranged from his family for several years, the sheriff’s office announced Monday, April 25. He was in the Baldwin County area helping migrants find work when he died.
An autopsy revealed the cause of death as probable drowning, authorities said.
The cold case was reopened in 2019 in hopes of identifying the man. Information on the victim, as well as photos of his unique tattoos, was shared on several missing persons websites and the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) database, deputies said.
“The number of websites available for missing persons and stuff and also the fact that this person had very distinct tattoos, so the decision was made to put it back out there and hopefully, somebody will notice these tattoos and that’s what happened,” Capt. Clint Cadenhead with the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office told WALA.
Muniz’s stepdaughter, Amanda Galleher, contacted the county sheriff’s office in June 2021 after recognizing one of the tattoos during an online search, she told McClatchy News. She said she never stopped looking after her stepfather disappeared many years ago.
“I’ve always looked, and I decided I was going to go through every state and look through every (unidentified persons) case,” Galleher said.
Unrecognizable sketches and incorrect descriptions of Muniz’s race complicated her search for answers. That is until Galleher came across a tattoo of “an Indian lady” she remembered was on her stepfather’s arm.
Investigators uploaded photos of at least six more tattoos, ”and every one of them I knew,” she said.
Deputies also used a DNA sample from a sibling to confirm the remains belonged to Muniz, Cadenhead told McClatchy News. The Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences positively identified the body on April 21.
Muniz’s remains are buried in Foley, Alabama. Galleher said she has already bought a headstone to mark her stepfather’s final resting place.
She encouraged those still searching for a loved one to “don’t give up, because the answers are out there.”
“Now, we have technology that will allow us to be able to search,” she told McClatchy News. “So just because it’s been 22 years — you know, someone opened that case back up and put it online. Had they not, I still wouldn’t know to this day.”
Seminole is about 40 miles southeast of Mobile.
This story was originally published April 26, 2022 at 10:40 AM with the headline "‘Distinct tattoos’ help identify Texas man found dead 22 years ago in Alabama river."