Man Identified Nearly 55 Years After His Death when Cass County Officials Exhume Body

1970 mystery solved by Cass County Coroner and Missouri anthropology team

FARGO — A 55-year-old mystery involving unidentified remains found in the northwest corner of Cass County has finally been solved. The answer was announced by Cass County Coroner Kriste Ross on Thursday, July 17, and came about by way of a concerned citizen, a curious anthropologist who grew up in Fargo, and through an exhumation of the remains by the Cass County Coroner’s Office. “If we can give closure to a family who might have always wondere…

Exhumed remains of unknown male buried in 1970 in Page, ND are positively identified in 2025

PAGE, N.D. (KVRR) — A body found near railroad tracks outside Page, North Dakota in 1970 has been positively identified as William Howard Tate. Investigators believe the body had been there for about six weeks and was a possible homicide victim or had fallen off of a train. Earlier this month, Cass County Coroner’s Office in collaboration with Southeast Missouri State University exhumed the remains. They were able to make a positive identificati…

Man identified nearly 55 years after his death when Cass County officials exhume body

Nearly 55 years after his suspicious death, the victim of a 1970 homicide investigation has been identified.

Human remains exhumed, positively identified more than 50 years later in ND

Page, N.D. – A man whose body was found near Page and was buried more than a half century ago has now been positively identified. The Cass County Sheriff’s Office says the case dates back to the fall of 1970, when a man’s remains were located near some railroad tracks. The case was investigated as a possible homicide, but a person of interest or suspect was never identified. This past July 1st, the County Coroner’s Office in partnership with Sou…

Exhumation of Unknown Male Results in Positive Identification

CASS COUNTY, N.D. – On October 27, 1970, the body of an unidentified adult male was found near railroad tracks outside Page in Cass County. Investigators believed the man had been deceased for about six weeks prior to the discovery. The Cass County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case as a possible homicide, as evidence suggested the man had been assaulted, robbed and either thrown or had fallen from a moving train. Despite extensive efforts, …