Patrick Thomas Harris was a man whose body was found between pieces of coal stored inside of a railcar at the W. A. Parish Generating Plant in Thompsons, Texas.
He was identified in late September 2021.
Case[]
In August 2007, an employee at the W. A. Parish Generating Plant in Thompsons, Texas, was unloading railcars when he discovered Harris' body wedged between pieces of coal inside of one of the railcars. Upon investigation, authorities immediately took DNA samples and traced the train's origins back to Wyoming alongside closely following leads but much to no avail. No substantial leads to the man's identity were found and continued to have tips trickle in occasionally throughout the following decade.
Identification[]
In 2020, authorities received a tip that the decedent may have been a missing man from Denver, Colorado. Due to the family of the decedent not having their DNA on record and the missing person's report not being on any databases, the Fort Bend County Police Department reached out to the Denver Police Department to aid in investigating this lead. Upon discovery of the family, detectives found an aunt that was still living and requested DNA. Thus, in September 2021, the man found in the railcar in Texas was identified as Patrick Harris of Denver, Colorado.
It is currently unknown why Harris was in the railcar, but it is known that the train had stopped in Denver between Wyoming and Texas. Harris had last been seen telling his grandmother he was heading to the store and never returned with no clues as to what happened to him after he left his home. His cause of death is currently unspecified, and his case currently remains open.