Centralia Sentinel

[jkubajakiii]

On December 24th, I purchased this local paper for the first time. The head line story caught my attention and I though you folks would be interested. It's reprinted with promission from the Centralia Sentinel:

FBI identifies 1997 train fatality

The man hit by a train had fingerprinnts on file for crimes commited in Kansas

BY LEAH WILLIAMS
SENTINEL NEWS STAFF

CENTRALIA -- After eight years, the mystery of "John Doe" killed by a freight train near the Calumet Street crossing, can now be put to rest.
Gregory Allen Beucher was identified Friday as the man who laid in front of a 35-car Illinois Central freight train about 200 yards south of the Calumet Street crossing.
Ever since Beucher's death on Aug. 20, 1997, Centralia police and the FBI have been investigating the man's identity, as no identification was found on the body and police were unable to trace the name he had given them.
Beucher, who was 38, told police earlier in the evening and the day of his death that he was 37 years old and from Chicago. Centralia police questioned him because they had received reports of a man exposing himself in the area.
The engineer of the train told police that he saw Beucher lying on the track about 60 feet before the impact. The engineer tried putting on the emergency brake, but was unable to stop the train, which was traveling between 20 and 30 mph, before running over Beucher.
Both the police and the engineer said Beucher was lying on the tracks and facing away from the train when it hit him. a nearly empty bottle of gin was found near the body and was believed to have belonged to Beucher.
According to FBI records made available by Centralia detective Blaine Uhls, Beucher had been conviceted previously of possession of marijuana with the intent to sell, burglary to an automobile, two counts of theft, theft under $300 battery and destruction of property, robbery and possession of a concealed weapon. In 1990, he was convicted of making terrorist threats, assault and disorderly conduct.
Most of the prior criminal activity occurred in Kansas, police said.
The FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services Division made many enhancements to its Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identifacation System, which has prompted the bureau to revisit unsolved and unknown death cases.
IAFIS was implemented under the notion that only one criminal history exists in the Criminal Justice Information Services' repository. As of September 2005, there were approximately 50 million criminal records and 9 million civil records that were automated.
Marion County Coroner Tom Nicolay said the decision on what to do with Beucher's body depends on the preference of any surviving members on his family. Police said they believe Beucher's father lives in Rio Racho, N.M., and they were attempting to contact him through New Mexico police. Beucher is buried as "John Doe" at Peaceful Valley Cemetery in Odin.

[MP173]

What an interesting story. I hope he finally found peace with himself. No doubt he affect many people, including the train crew, during his life.

ed