The nearly 50-year-old mystery of the unidentified "Pinnacle Man" has finally been solved. His remains have been identified as Nicholas Paul Grubb, a 27-year-old from Fort Washington, Pennsylvania. The announcement was made by the Berks County Coroner’s Office, ending decades of speculation surrounding the frozen body discovered in a cave near the Pinnacle, an Appalachian mountain peak, on January 16, 1977.
For nearly half a century, the man found dead in the cold, remote cave had been known only as "Pinnacle Man," a nickname derived from the scenic location where his body was discovered. Initial autopsy results revealed no signs of foul play, and authorities concluded that Grubb's death was due to a drug overdose. However, despite these findings, the man's identity remained a mystery.
In the aftermath of the discovery, the victim’s fingerprints were collected, but they were misplaced, and attempts to identify him through his clothing, belongings, or dental records were unsuccessful. The case remained cold for decades, with only a sketch of his likeness as a lead.
The breakthrough in the case came in August 2019 when Grubb’s body was exhumed. After being linked to missing person cases in Florida and Illinois through dental records, a comprehensive examination by forensic experts did not yield immediate results. However, this year, a significant development occurred when Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Ian Keck found the original fingerprints that had been thought lost.
Keck's diligence paid off when, within an hour of submitting the fingerprints to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), an FBI analyst matched them to Nicholas Paul Grubb. Confirmation came shortly after from a family member, who requested that Grubb be reburied in a family plot.
Berks County Coroner John Fielding expressed relief and satisfaction at the resolution. "This identification brings a long-awaited resolution to his family," Fielding said. "It is moments like these that remind us of the importance of our work to provide answers, to bring closure, and to give the unidentified a name and a story."
The case's resolution was aided by the efforts of investigators over the years, including George Holmes, Chief Deputy of the Berks County Coroner’s Office. Holmes said that attempts to match Grubb’s fingerprints and dental records with various missing person reports over the past 15 years had been unsuccessful until Trooper Keck's recent discovery.
Despite the identification, many questions about Grubb's final days remain unanswered. Authorities are still trying to figure out by why his body was found in the cave dressed in light clothing and attempting to start a fire, without any food or camping gear.
