Remains identified after being found in 2019 by TDOT mowers in Loudon County

LOUDON COUNTY, Tenn. (WATE) — Human remains found in Loudon County in 2019 have been identified, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation announced Monday.

The body was identified as John Arthur Troutman, born January 1, 1952, originally from Herndon, Pennsylvania. The TBI asked for the public’s help in determining why he was in Loudon County and what he was doing before his death.

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A Tennessee Department of Transportation crew discovered human remains in August 2019 while mowing alongside I-75 in Philadelphia. Loudon County Sheriff’s Office deputies began investigating along with the Knox County Regional Forensic Center. Forensic pathologists determined that the remains belonged to a man likely between 45 and 55. His cause of death was undetermined, and they could not identify him.

In February, the forensic center asked for the TBI’s help identifying the man. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Cold Case and Unidentified Human Remains Initiative submitted a sample of the remains to Othram, a private lab in Texas, for DNA testing.

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In July, Othram scientists told the TBI that they had identified possible relatives for the body. A TBI intelligence analyst tracked down the family in North Carolina and Pennsylvania to ask them about the remains. They said they had not seen their older brother since the 1980s, and they provided a DNA sample, which Ortham compared to the remains. This allowed Othram to identify the remains as Troutman.

A Pennsylvania Tourism and Transportation map from 2010 was found near the body. LCSO had previously said that indications suggested he was homeless and camping in the area.

The TBI asked for the public’s help in discovering what Troutman was doing in Loudon County leading up to his death. Anyone with information should call the Loudon County Sheriff’s Office at865-986-4823or the TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND.

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The TBI said that Congressman Tim Burchett’s Community Project Funding request made the testing possible.

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