Milwaukee cold-case investigators say they have finally put a name to remains recovered years ago, identifying them as Thomas A. Schaffer, a man who went missing in 2005. The breakthrough came after a fresh look at two old sets of bones, including a skull fragment pulled from the Menomonee River, and it has given Schaffer's daughter the answers she had been seeking for nearly two decades. The development has also pushed the team to double down on a separate unidentified-person case that has sat open since 1982.
How investigators finally made the match
Dr. Jordan Karsten of the Wisconsin State Crime Lab told TMJ4 that a small, distinctive bump on Schaffer's cranium helped seal the identification. Investigators said grant funding let them revisit two separate sets of bones and compare their features and records against long-standing missing-person files. Officer Jamie Sromalla with the Milwaukee Police Department said delivering the news to Schaffer's family brought meaningful closure, and Schaffer's daughter described feeling a new sense of peace.
The missing-person background
State records show Schaffer was reported missing on Aug. 2, 2005, and was last seen near 7600 W. Oklahoma Avenue in Milwaukee, according to the Wisconsin Department of Justice missing-person poster. The poster lists his physical descriptors and directs any potential leads to Milwaukee police, underscoring how long investigators had been trying to track him down.
1982 Milwaukee River Jane Doe
With Schaffer's case now identified, the same team has turned the spotlight to a different mystery. They released a digitally enhanced composite of an unidentified woman whose remains were recovered on March 16, 1982, from the Milwaukee River near 420 North Plankinton Avenue, according to the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner. The medical examiner's case file notes several distinctive features, including a long abdominal surgical scar, burn marks and extensive dental work, details authorities hope will jog someone's memory. Police asked anyone with information to contact the Milwaukee Police tip line at (844) 232-6262, as reported by TMJ4.
What the renewed review shows
Reporting by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel notes that the medical examiner's office uses NamUs and reconstructive imaging from national partners to generate new leads. Those tools, paired with updated forensic review and grant funding, are the same approaches that helped investigators narrow in on a match in Schaffer's case.
Work on both investigations is ongoing. Authorities asked that anyone with tips about either case call Milwaukee Police at (844) 232-6262 or the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner at (414) 223-1200, and to share any photographs, names or memories that might give investigators a fresh path forward.
