'John Doe' Inmate Baffles Utah Police

Older man won't, or can't, reveal his identity
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jul 26, 2011 12:23 PM CDT
'John Doe' Inmate Baffles Utah Police
Inmate "John Doe," in a photo provided by the Utah County Sheriff's Office.   ((AP Photo/Utah County Sheriff's Office))

A mystery man believed to be in his 70s has been locked up in a Utah jail for more than three weeks and has baffled investigators because he refuses to reveal his identity or provide any details about his life. The graying, disheveled man with blue eyes and a scruffy face was booked into the Utah County Jail as "John Doe" after being arrested for trespassing in the Provo Police Department parking garage. Since then, investigators have been publicizing his mug shot and reaching out to the media and public to figure out who he is. About 100 tips have led nowhere.

"He's here on some misdemeanors but the fact is, we still don't know who he is," said Lt. Dennis Harris of the Utah County Sheriff's Office. Harris said the man was arrested July 1 in the underground police parking garage, about 45 miles south of Salt Lake City, after he was spotted peering into vehicles. "The only thing that I can even elicit from him is he said that at some point in time, he would need to get out," Harris said. "That's the only thing he's given us. Whatever that means, I don't know." (More Utah stories.)

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