Victim identified in 1994 Ogden cold case

Victim identified in 1994 Ogden cold case


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OGDEN — An Oregon man discovered dead in Ogden in 1994 has been identified, nearly two decades after his body was discovered burned to death in an abandoned home.

John Edwin Duff, 27, was last seen on Sept. 2, 1994, according to the Ogden Police Department. Duff's family reported him missing in 1995, but there were no leads.

Duff's case was re-examined in April after Ogden police were alerted to a potential match to a missing person from Salt Lake City. Although it did not end up being a match, police were ultimately able to identify Duff as the victim of a fire in Ogden nearly two decades ago.

The body of a man was found in an abandoned home at 119 W. 29th Street following a structure fire there at about 9 p.m. on Oct. 14, 1994. Fingerprint analyses provided no clues and all leads were exhausted, according to the Ogden police department.

The Utah State Medical Examiner's Office eventually determined there had been no foul play involved in the fire. Authorities believed the man had been taking refuge in the abandoned home.

The victim was entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System in Dec. 2010. It was that information that allowed authorities to find a match with Duff's information, which had been entered into NAMUS in Feb. 2012.

Investigators from Ogden and Multnomah County, Ore., worked together to notify Duff's family, police said.

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Stephanie Grimes

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