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Alishan John Doe was a man whose skeletal remains were discovered in Qianren Cave, Chiayi County, Taiwan, during an expedition funded by the father of New Zealand national Reuben Tchernegovski to recover his son's remains. A backpack bearing the New Zealand flag was found with the remains, leading to the erroneous belief that they belonged to Tchernegovski. DNA testing later proved this incorrect, leaving the decedent's identity unknown.
Case[]
On 24 March 1999, the father of New Zealander Reuben Tchernegovski received $10,000 from the Chinese diaspora community to sponsor a search for his son. Tchernegovski, a nature lover, had gone missing on 15 November 1998 while on a 20-day nature retreat in Taiwan. Upon receiving the money, the father went to Taiwan and focused his search on the Alishan region near Fengshan Village. His announcement of his intent prompted many locals and volunteers to offer their help.
Locals from Fengshan village participating in the search reached the base of the cliff leading from Qianren Cave to Shimeng Valley. There, they discovered human remains consisting of four leg bones, one hand bone, a fractured skull, three vertebrae, three ribs, and two unidentified bones. Next to the remains was a blue backpack embroidered with the New Zealand flag. The backpack led many to believe they had found Tchernegovski.
In June 2000, further tests ruled out the decedent as Tchernegovski. He was shorter than Tchernegovski, significantly older, and possessed a lighter; cigarettes were found in his backpack, whereas Tchernegovski did not smoke. DNA testing definitively confirmed that the remains belonged to someone else.
Clothing and accessories[]
- Blue backpack with an embroidered flag of New Zealand.
- Lighter.
- White sweater.
- Cigarettes.
Exclusions[]
- Reuben Tchernegovski
Sources[]
- Blackstory (Chinese)
- China Times (Chinese)
- Minsheng Daily (Chinese)
- The New Zealand Herald