The amazing story of how an Imgur post helped find a man missing for 20 years

The power of the internet.

In June 1995 there was a fatal car crash in Emporia, Virginia in America where two men lost their lives. The driver was identified by his family, but they had no idea who was sitting in the passenger seat. The young man had no I.D and there was nothing on him that could point to who he was except a note addressed to someone called Jason. He was, and remained, a mystery until this photo and message looking for help was posted to Imgur over a year ago.

In June of 1995, I was involved in a fatal car accident in Emporia, Virginia. The driver fell asleep at the wheel. He had his I.D on him, but I didn't, and his family do not know who I am. For 20 years, no-one has come forward to identify me. I have adopted the identity of 'The Grateful Doe'. At the time of the accident, I was wearing a Grateful Dead t-shirt, I had two Grateful Dead ticket stubs for their 24th and 25h of June shows at RFK Stadium in Washington D.C. I had some money, a lighter, and two necklaces with me. A note was found in the vicinity of the accident addressed to 'Jason'. Medical examiners suggested I might be between 16 and 25 years of age. Maybe we went to school together, lived next door to one another, or maybe you saw me around town. Maybe you know of a missing person who fits my identity? Can you help me finish my journey?EDIT: Firstly, I would like to apologise to anyone offended by the use of first person.Secondly, there have been a lot of questions regarding our doe. I'm new to Imgur, and was unsure how long my descriptions could be to begin with. Furthermore, I have only just now learnt how to edit posts. To clear up the most frequently asked questions:1. Grateful Doe is deceased. 2. The number was called, it returned no results.3. DNA/Dental/Fingerprints returned no results4. The main photo is not a photo. It is a computer restoration.5. Missing persons throughout all of America have been thoroughly researched. If you would like to see the list of MP's who have been excluded as possibly being Grateful Doe, please visit the NamUs website. It looks like this has reached a few people that it REALLY needed to reach. I'll continue to update, but for now, it looks like we have some strong leads. :)

Over 500,000 people viewed the post and amazingly it's led to the identification of "The Grateful Doe." An update was posted by Grey earlier today.

Hi Imgur,Some of you may not recognise me, and some of you may not.We posted here back in January, about the case of the Grateful Doe, a young man who remained unidentified after sadly passing away in a car accident in 1995, in Emporia, Virginia.You can find my original post here:<a rel="noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://imgur.com/gallery/qW4IIAp">http://imgur.com/gallery/qW4IIAp</a>We made this post without thinking much would happen. We thought it would hopefully bring attention to this case, maybe it would bring in some new information from people who had been to the same concert as the Grateful Doe. What we received.. was so much more.From this post, a lovely man came forward, because the reconstructions, as well as the information provided, matched the description of a young man he lived with in 1994 - 1995, who happened to be named &#039;Jason&#039;. Him and I, as well as the other roommates, and friends who had known Jason, began talking. After hours and hours of discussion, we noted how similar the stories were, how similar the descriptions were, and questioned if we had made a break in this 20 year old cold case. We were supplied photos, which showed a young man who looked incredibly similar to that of the reconstructinos of the Grateful Doe.We forwarded all of this information on to the authorities, who eventually made contact with this man, and his friends. Not too long after, after this story reached the mainsteam media, a lady came forward stating that the young man in the photos provided was her son, Jason Callahan, who had been missing for 20 years. DNA testing has been in progress ever since. Today, at 4:30AM this morning, I received a message from one of them, telling me that it had been confirmed.The Grateful Doe has been positively identified as the missing man, Jason Callahan.At this stage, there is not too much more that we can say.. Just that we are thinking of the loved ones of Jason Callahan, and Michael, the young man who was the driver of the car, who also lost his life in this horrible accident.If you would like to read more information about this case, please do not hesitate to visit our subreddit or Facebook page at the following links:www.reddit.com/r/gratefuldoewww.facebook.com/TheDoeSearchIf you have any questions, please ask, and I will be more than happy to answer. Grey.

The power of the internet.