Bernard Addison, 76, died of natural causes in his apartment on Whittle Springs Road in Knoxville. Police are seeking his next of kin, but investigators say they have not yet been able to locate a relative to notify.
Addison was originally from Memphis and moved to Knoxville to attend college, according to WATE 6 On Your Side. Knoxville police are asking anyone with information about his relatives to call 865-215-7275.
A Search That Draws on Databases and Old-Fashioned Legwork
The search can involve law enforcement databases, publicly available information and other investigative work, WATE reported. In difficult cases, investigators may also seek help from Unclaimed Persons, an online group of volunteer genealogical researchers. The group reported helping resolve 619 cases as of March 2024, according to the station.
The Knoxville Police Department sometimes asks the public to help identify a decedent’s relatives. Earlier in 2026, it made appeals in cases involving a woman found dead in an apartment on Lula Powell Drive and a man who lived on Armstrong Avenue, WATE reported.
Past Cases Show These Searches Can Move Fast — Or Drag On
A public appeal helped locate Brian Forbes’s family about 30 hours after police sought assistance in March 2025. Forbes had died at a home on Kingsmore Drive in February; officers had first tried law enforcement databases, publicly available information and other investigative methods, WATE reported.
In another case, police announced in May 2025 that they were trying to find the family of a woman who died at an East Knoxville retirement village. WATE later reported that relatives were located and notified about a week after the appeal.
Why Some Remains Go Unclaimed
The Knox County Regional Forensic Center maintains a list of unclaimed people. WATE has reported different totals for the list: one account put it at around 520 names, while another cited 435; the available reports do not explain the difference. The station has reported that remains may go unclaimed because relatives cannot afford funeral or cremation costs, or because investigators have been unable to find next of kin.
Who is responsible, and what do the counts show?
The Knox County Regional Forensic Center told WATE 6 On Your Side that law enforcement is responsible for locating and notifying a decedent’s next of kin. The reported information assigns that responsibility to law enforcement but does not describe a separate set of steps the center takes to identify decedents. The published totals are dated snapshots, not a single current count: WATE reported 435 people on the list as of February 27, 2025. In a separate report, the station said a December 28 report from the center listed 337 people—285 unclaimed persons and 52 identified as U.S. veterans.
The Knox County Regional Forensic Center says its most recent list was current as of October 19, 2026. Questions about claiming a decedent can be directed to 865-215-8000 during regular business hours, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Police continue to seek information that could help them notify Addison’s family.
