Jason Callahan, a South Carolina teen who died in 1995, remained unidentified and his body unclaimed because the injuries suffered were so severe they left him unrecognizable. Due to this, but thanks to two Grateful Dead ticket stubs in his pocket, he became known as "Grateful Doe" in a mystery that was finally put to rest 20 years later after DNA testing revealed his identity.
The mystery of "Grateful Doe" captured the attention of Internet sleuths in recent years, who circulated composite images of his face and created pages dedicated to solving the case.
It was through those sites that Callahan's family recognized him and contacted authorities, reported Callahan's half-sister Shannon Michelson. In a statement, she said she is both relieved and sad to learn of her brother's fate.
"I'm glad it was solved, but I'm also incredibly sad because I wanted so badly to reconnect with him," said Michelson, according to ABC News, noting that she was among several family members who submitted their DNA to help confirm his identity.
She said they hadn't seen each other ever since their father and his mother separated: "My dad, Jason's father, was a very private and complicated man. I was nine years old when Jason left. Whenever I brought him up, [my dad] would change the subject. He said Jason always ran away from home and was always into drugs."
Callahan was 19 when he disappeared in June 1995 after leaving to follow the the Grateful Dead, reported the Huffington Post. Because he was and adult with a history of running away, Callahan's mother didn't file a missing persons report until January of this year, under the impression that he was living on his own somewhere.
"No one ever thought to report him missing because they thought he wanted to be missing," Michelson said.
