TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Escambia County Sheriff's Office has reopened a homicide case that has been unsolved for 35 years after learning the identity of the man killed.
Sheriff's officials say DNA analysis from a man looking for a missing uncle identified the victim as William Ernest Thompson, whose body was found in January 1985.
Thompson went missing right around the time the "John Doe" body had been found. He had last been heard from September 23, 1983. He had called his mother from somewhere in Pensacola Beach.
Authorities reopened the case after being contacted by Thompson's relative, who speculated that one of the cold cases featured on the sheriff's website was that of his uncle.
The tipster speculated that the initials "W. T." found on the man's belt buckle referred to his missing uncle. A missing persons report was never filed for Thompson.
DNA had been sent to a lab in Texas, where it was confirmed the missing body was his.
Anyone with information about William Thompson's homicide is urged to call Crime Stoppers at 433-STOP or the ECSO at 436-9620.
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