On October 27, 1970, the body of an unidentified adult male was found near railroad tracks outside Page in Cass County. Investigators believed the man had been deceased for about six weeks prior to the discovery.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case as a possible homicide, as evidence suggested the man had been assaulted, robbed and either thrown or had fallen from a moving train. Despite extensive efforts, no suspects or persons of interest were ever identified.

The man’s cause of death was listed as fractures of the ribs, cervical vertebrae, maxilla and mandible. The manner of death was ruled undetermined. With no identification, he was buried at St. James Cemetery in Page with a headstone marked “Unknown Male.”

On July 1, 2025, the Cass County Coroner’s Office, in collaboration with Southeast Missouri State University, exhumed the remains in a renewed effort to identify the individual. During the exhumation, an upper denture plate was recovered from the skeletal remains. The denture was labeled “Tate W. H” with the number “20506932” printed beneath.

Using genealogical and archival resources, including Ancestry.com and the National Archives Access to Archival Databases, investigators traced the denture information to a World War II enlistment record for William Howard Tate.

Based on that record and subsequent analysis, the unknown male was positively identified as William Howard Tate.

Additional analysis of the remains is being conducted by Dr. Jennifer Bengtson, a professor overseeing the project at Southeast Missouri State University. The effort is funded by private donors who support the university’s anthropology department.

The Coroner’s Office is also working with Cass County Veteran Services to have a new headstone with the decedent’s identification placed on the grave.