Deceased Male Found In Valpo In 2016 Identified
The Valparaiso Police took measures that lead to the identification of a deceased male, who was located along a wooded area between the 2200 block of Chicago St. and the 100 Block of Mayfield Ave. The September 24, 2016, report was made by a man walking in the area that lead officers to a makeshift campsite where the deceased was located.
The deceased had no identification, no usable fingerprints, and no identifying marks that aided police in learning the name of the subject. At the time, the death was investigated with no foul play discovered. All leads were further exhausted by the Valparaiso Police and the Porter County Coroner’s Office regarding the identity of the deceased male. As part of the original investigation, DNA was collected from the deceased and maintained for additional future comparison with any reported missing subjects. This included submitting DNA to the University of North Texas Health Science Center Laboratory and entry in to the National Missing Person DNA Database.
In early 2020, additional resources were discovered that could aid in the identification of the male subject. The case was reopened and a previously unreported missing person, who was known to be in our area due to police contact, developed as a possible identification for the deceased. Through this, it was confirmed that the missing person had not been seen by family since 2016. Utilizing DNA comparison from family, which had been provided to the University of North Texas, the deceased male was confirmed to be Angel Rivera, 55 years of age at his time of death. It was discovered that Angel had contacts in Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois prior to his death. Angel’s family has been involved with police during this process and are aware of the identification.
