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In a remarkable breakthrough, officials have finally identified the headless and handless body of a man discovered more than half a century ago on a desolate road in Allegany County, New York. Advances in DNA technology have revealed the victim to be Clyde A. Coppage, a 35-year-old man, authorities announced this week.
Despite this significant development, the individual responsible for Coppage’s murder remains at large, leaving a crucial part of the mystery unsolved.
Coppage’s remains were found abandoned by the roadside in Andover, a small town in upstate New York, back in March 1970. For decades, the identity of the victim eluded law enforcement, casting a shadow over the investigation.
According to a statement released by the New York State Police on Thursday, “Over the course of nearly 56 years, investigating members of the New York State Police continued to track down every lead, but the identity of the male remained unknown.” The breakthrough in identifying Coppage marks a significant step forward in a case that has puzzled investigators for generations.
“Over the course of nearly 56 years, investigating members of the New York State Police continued to track down every lead, but the identity of the male remained unknown,” New York State Police said in a news release Thursday.
Coppage was originally from Pennsylvania and hadn’t been reported missing.
He didn’t have any clothes on or any other way to identify him, Trooper James O’Callaghan said Friday, according to the Albany Times Union.
The road in Andover, N.Y., where Clyde Coppage’s body was found. (New York State Police)
O’Callaghan said the evidence suggested Coppage was killed and dismembered somewhere else before his body was left on the rural Davis Hill Road in Andover.
In June 2022, his body was exhumed for a DNA profile, and, with the help of the FBI, he was finally identified.
New York State Police Troop A headquarters in upstate New York. (Google Maps)
State police said the Bureau of Criminal Investigation out of NYSP Amity is asking for the public’s help for any information about Coppage or his killer.
The investigation into his death remains active, police said.
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