Not to be confused with Daniel Diaz Reyes
Daniel S. Diaz was a young man found murdered in 2003 in Indiana. He was seen alive in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, two days before.
He was identified in 2022.
Case[]
Background[]
Diaz was born on September 18, 1977. At the time of his death, he was living in Columbus, Ohio. His family had not seen or heard from Diaz for over 20 years and believed that he had cut all contact with them.
Discovery[]
On October 2, 2003, detectives Jerry Cason and Frank Hittel of the Indianapolis Police Department were escorting a prisoner around Henry County in an attempt to gain information about crimes he had committed. The prisoner asked to use the restroom, and the detectives pulled into an abandoned gas station off Interstate 70 on Indiana Route 109. While they were taking a break, one of the individuals discovered a deceased male lying in the back of the gas station.
An autopsy was performed in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The deceased had been shot in the head, and it was determined he had been at this location for less than 24 hours. The death was ruled a homicide. Shortly after, photos of the decedent were taken to identify him through the media, but to no avail. The detectives who had found the body surrendered their service weapons to Henry County officials as protocol to ensure that the officers were not involved in the murder.
Investigation[]
During the initial investigation, investigators found out that the decedent may have had a connection with the city of Reynoldsburg, Ohio, as he was seen two days before his discovery at the local Walmart making a purchase. Additionally, he was seen driving a red car. Investigators have not specified what kind of car he was driving nor made public any evidence that he was at the Walmart.
NCMEC took on the case in 2012 and provided the above information to their bulletin and an updated reconstruction of the victim. Before this, only postmortem photographs were available to the public for identification purposes.
Characteristics[]
- Short, course black or dark brown hair.
- Brown eyes.
- Goatee.
- Mustache.
- Previous orthodontic treatment with brackets still attached to teeth.
- Mole on upper right shoulder.
- Mole on left lower back.
Clothing and accessories[]
- Blue sweatshirt with "Malone USA" on front.
- Brown work pants with UConn warm-up sweatpants over the pants.
- White Reebok sneakers.
- White socks.
- White Duke baseball cap.