Human Remains Discovered in Loudon County in 2019 Identified as a Result of Cold Case Initiative

LOUDON COUNTY – A man whose remains were found in 2019 in Loudon County has been identified as a result of a partnership between the Knox County Regional Forensic Center, the Loudon County Sheriff’s Office, and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Cold Case and Unidentified Human Remains Initiative.

On August 20, 2019, the Loudon County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of human remains found in a wooded area by a Tennessee Department of Transportation crew mowing along Interstate 75 in Philadelphia. Loudon County detectives and the Knox County Regional Forensic Center (RFC) began investigating the death and attempting to identify the victim.  Forensic pathologists determined that the remains were those of an adult male, likely between the ages of 45 and 55. The cause and manner of death were ruled undetermined. All conventional means of forensic identification failed to yield the man’s identity, and he was classified as a John Doe.

In February, the RFC requested TBI’s assistance in identifying the victim. As part of the TBI Cold Case and Unidentified Human Remains Initiative, a sample of the man’s remains was submitted to Othram, a private lab in Texas, for forensic genetic genealogical DNA testing. Earlier this month, Othram scientists notified agents that they had developed information about possible relatives connected to the man. Using that information, a TBI intelligence analyst located potential family members in North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Agents made contact with those individuals who stated they had not seen their older brother since the 1980s. They agreed to provide a DNA sample. The samples were then submitted to Othram for comparison against the DNA of the unidentified man. Based on the DNA and forensic genealogy results, scientists at Othram confirmed that the Loudon County John Doe was John Arthur Troutman (DOB: 01/01/52), originally from Herndon, Pennsylvania.

Investigators are hoping the public can help provide additional information about John Troutman and what he was doing in Loudon County leading up to his death. Anyone with information is asked to call the Loudon County Sheriff’s Office at 865-986-4823 or the TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND.

Forensic genetic genealogical testing on this case was made possible as a result of U.S. Congressman Tim Burchett’s 2024 Community Project Funding request through the Bureau of Justice Assistance.