On October 9, 1983, 10-year-old Christopher Vaughn was out hunting with his father when the two of them came across the body of an African-American male in a grassy ditch next to some power lines. The body was so severely damaged that authorities had trouble identifying it. Police asked the public for help with the identification.

On October 10, the 15-paragraph article at the bottom of the front page of the local newspaper described the victim as a 5-foot-7-inches and in his 20s. There was a small tattoo on his left hand, and he wore blue jeans and a beige sweater and was barefoot when found. He had a small goatee and "light mustache." Two of his bottom teeth were missing. Investigators combed through missing person reports before identifying the victim as Timothy Coggins the next day.