Irvin Goff
Missing Since: 12/01/2004
Missing From: Edgard, Louisiana
Classification: Endangered Missing
Sex: Male
Race: Black
Date of Birth: 12/29/1954 (71)
Age: 59 years old
Height and Weight: 5'9, 150 pounds
Medical Conditions: Goff is mentally disabled. He was suffering from cancer at the time of his disappearance; his prognosis was terminal.
Distinguishing Characteristics: Black male. Graying black hair, brown eyes. Goff may spell his name "Gauff."
Details of Disappearance
Goff was last seen in Edgard, Louisiana sometime in December 2004. He resided in the 100 block of east 7th Street in Edgard at the time of his disappearance. He has never been heard from again.
Goff often takes long trips on foot, sometimes going as far as New Orleans, Louisiana. His family is used to not hearing from him for long periods and as a result, they did not report him missing until April 17, 2005, about four months after they last heard from him.
Foul play is not suspected in Goff's disappearance, but due to his poor health he is believed to be in danger. His case remains unsolved.
Unidentified Remains
Date of Discovery: January 4, 2008
Location of Discovery: New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana
Estimated Date of Death: 3 months to 2 years prior to discovery
State of Remains: Not recognizable - Partial skeletal parts only
Cause of Death: Likely natural causes
Physical Description
Estimated Age: 45-60 years old
Race: Black/African American
Sex: Male
Height: 5'8" - 6'2"
Weight: Unknown
Hair: Dark, tightly curled
Eye Color: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Healed fracture to the left nasal bone. Extensive vertebral osteophytosis C3-C5.
Identifiers
Dentals: Available. Tooth #1 & Tooth #16 not seen, may be antemortem loss or congenital absence. Unfilled carie noted on Tooth #15(B).
Fingerprints: Unknown.
DNA: Available.
Clothing & Personal Items
Clothing: Short-sleeved, pale-colored shirt with buttons, size medium; Black, long-sleeved hooded sweatshirt with the logo "Z-Trip" (in white) on the front; Blue, long-sleeved Jerzees hooded sweatshirt.
Jewelry: Unknown.
Additional Personal Items: Altus back support belt with "#5-D" hand-written on the label; A Sears "Safe-T-Lift" back support belt.
Circumstances of Discovery
The decedent's remains were discovered on the second floor of the abandoned C.J. Peete public housing complex by workers going through the building ahead of a planned demolition.
Reasoning
Both individuals are black males within the 45-60 age range with a similar visual resemblance particularly in the face shape and nasal structure. Goff is listed at 5'9 and the Doe was estimated at 5'8 to 6'2. Both are described as having dark "salt and pepper" curly hair. Goff is stated to have an unspecified mental disability and had been suffering from an unspecified cancer at the time of his disappearance, with his prognosis being terminal. The anthropological profile for the remains notes a healed fracture to the left nasal bone and extensive vertebral osteophytosis in the C3-C5 region. The Doe was found wearing two back support belts and could've suffered from chronic back or neck pain. There is no weight estimate listed for the Doe, however, the Doe's shirt size being a medium and Goff's weight of 150 lbs is another consistency.
There is a strong behavioral link; Goff's case file states he often traveled far distances on foot 'as far as New Orleans', the city where the Doe's remains were recovered. It's probable that he lived a transient lifestyle which resonates with him being found in an abandoned building. The layered clothing found on the Doe is consistent with the attributes described by Goff’s family and transiency explains why he was not reported missing until months later in April 2005. Additionally, the fact that Goff was seemingly not in the care of any relatives or a facility supports this. With Goff's date of last contact being in December 2004 and the remains being recovered in early 2008 with a three-month to two-year post-mortem interval, it allows the possibility that Goff lived as a transient in New Orleans months or years before his death.