MOHAVE COUNTY, AZ — For over 25 years, the Mohave County Sheriff's Office has been trying to solve the mystery of a John Doe found at Lake Havasu.
The man was found dead in a sleeping bag, shot multiple times, on the afternoon of October 7, 2000. A boater stopping by Sand Isle Cove made the discovery and called MCSO.
Inside the sleeping bag, the man was headfirst in the fetal position with a few specific belongings.
"There was so much of him that was just unique to him, that I thought that it would be a no brainer; that we would be able to identify him and then work backwards," said MCSO Investigator Lori Miller.
Miller works for the Special Investigations Unit at MCSO, and her team has worked to help identify dozens of Jane and John Does.
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She said it's unusual for Lake Havasu to be associated with a death other than one involving a boating accident.
"Is it really a crime scene?" questions Miller. "I would surmise that he was probably killed somewhere else and dumped here."
Originally, when the man was found, MCSO said it was clear the person had been in the water for quite some time.
An autopsy eventually gave investigators more information about how the man died and his previous appearance.
"At that time, the doctors determined it to be a male white in 20's to 40's, 5'7 to 5'9,140 to 160 pounds, and cause of death was the gunshot wound," said Miller.
Some of the most important clues were the items found with the John Doe, who is for now known as '"Sleeping Bag Man."
"He had white tennis shoes on, blue jeans, and he had a pretty descriptive t-shirt on from Hot Boat Magazine," said Miller.
She told ABC15 that magazine, at the time, was local to Lake Havasu.
Also, found on the John Doe was a Casio digital watch, a pouch with a multi-purpose tool, and a flashlight with the initial's JKP on the end cap.
For our streaming series, Arizona Crime Uncovered, our team got exclusive access.
MCSO gave an up-close look at evidence that hasn't been taken out of their boxes and bags for over a decade.
The agency also took us back out on the water to the cove where the man was found and the mystery all began.
Genetic genealogy and a missing man
In October 2023, MCSO exhumed "Sleeping Bag Man" to try and get a DNA profile.
Miller's hope was to use genetic genealogy to figure out who the John Doe was. So far, they haven't found a match that's close enough to help with the investigation.
MCSO told ABC15 that the John Doe's DNA profile is in databases like GEDmatch.
"I continued to check those databases," said Miller. "Hopefully one day somebody will put their file in, their DNA file, and it'll get me something other than 60 centimorgans [a distant match]."
MCSO has also shared details on this John Doe on Facebook before, along with a forensic sketch that was created back in 2001.
"I was flooded with check, this could be Dennis Lee Anderson out of Murray, Utah," said Miller.
Missing person pages for Anderson can be seen online through a Utah state website and also the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, or NamUs.
Miller followed up with detectives in Utah and is waiting for more DNA testing.
"But up to now, that's the only lead that I really have that might be, you know, certifiable," said Miller.
Justice for the forgotten
The motto of Miller's unit is "justice for the forgotten."
In their office, you can see binders for cases that have gone cold.
Sometimes, with investigations like "Sleeping Bag Man", the goal becomes giving the person their name back.
"Everybody desires prosecution; but especially in these older cases, the chances of that happening is pretty remote," said Miller. "But the ultimate I call it a win, I guess that you can do for people, is to identify their loved one and bring them home."
She hopes people hear about the evidence in the case, see the man's belongings, and come forward with a tip that could move the case forward.
If you have information on this case, or any others, you are asked to call MCSO at 928-753-0753 ext. 4408.
