This individual was recently confirmed to have been identified. Some details may change as more information is released publicly.
Carl Matthew Bryant (May 26, 1968 - June 13, 1972) was a boy found murdered in a creek in Lorton, Virginia, in 1972.
He was identified in July 2025 through genetic genealogy research conducted by Innovative Forensic Investigations. No photographs of him in life are known to exist. Upon his identification, it was discovered that his younger brother was also an unreported missing person, feared to have suffered the same fate.
Case[]
Bryant lived with his mother, Vera, his six-month-old brother James, and Vera's boyfriend, James Hedgepeth, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. On June 13, 1972, the same day that his body was discovered, the four drove from Philadelphia to Middlesex County, Virginia, to visit Hedgepeth's family. The two adults arrived without any children, and Vera Bryant later told her family that she had left them in the care of Hedgepeth's family.
It is believed that James Hedgepeth, who had a violent criminal history and was previously convicted of murder, likely killed both boys. The whereabouts of James Bryant remain unknown, and it was only discovered that he was missing after his brother Carl was identified.
Both Vera Bryant and James Hedgepth are deceased. Vera was found murdered on a construction site in Philadelphia in 1980. James Hedgepeth died at the age of 84 in 2017.
Bryant's cause of death was the result of blunt force trauma to the head. He was found unclothed and floating in Massey Creek below the Old Colchester Road Bridge in Lorton, Virginia. His clothes were never located.
Characteristics[]
- Black hair.
- Brown eyes.
Media[]
- Bryant's reconstruction was shown in the 2006 episode of Cold Case Files titled "A Knock at the Door," on display in the Fairfax County Sheriff's Office.
- Reconstructions of Sharon Abbott Lane and Joyce Meyer (previously "Christmas Tree Lady") also appear.