After 60 Years, 'Unknown Boy' Who Died in Crash Has a Name

The short, unhappy life of Danny Armantrout ended when he drowned in an Alabama river after a car crash on March 27, 1961—but the 15-year-old was known only as "Unknown Boy" for the next 60 years. He was finally identified last week with the help of forensic genealogy, and authorities now hope to find a brother who would be 79 years old if he is still alive, reports AL.com. Danny was hitchhiking through Alabama when he was picked up by a driver who crashed through a guardrail into the Cahaba River in Bibb County soon afterward. The driver survived but could provide little information on his passenger, apart from the fact that he was headed to California. The boy's clothing suggested he had come from further north, and he was carrying a pack of cigarettes bought in South Carolina.

After authorities were unable to identify him, Centreville residents paid for a coffin and a marble headstone that said "Unknown in Life but Recognized in Death." A surviving brother, Don Hamilton, is 77 years old and lives in Florida. He tells the New York Times that Danny, his younger brother, ran away to escape the severe abuse doled out at their rural Tennessee home, where their alcoholic stepfather whipped them, burned their fingers with matches, and failed to give them food for days at a time. He says an older brother, David, also ran away; he hasn't heard from him since. Hamilton says he escaped the situation by joining the Army when he was 17. Authorities say the last known sighting of David Armantrout was in Florida in 1963.

Centreville mayor Mike Oakley says he grew up hearing about the Unknown Boy, and he and his friends would sometimes ride their bikes to the grave to pay their respects. Oakley says he hopes that if David Armantrout—who might be using the name David Hamilton—is still alive, coverage of the case might inspire him to come forward. Don Hamilton says Hamilton was the name of their abusive stepfather. Their biological father's surname was Armantrout, and Don Hamilton asked for it to be on a grave cover that will be dedicated in a ceremony on Dec. 28, which would have been Danny's 75th birthday. "I’m sad because I won’t ever get to see my brother alive," he tells the Times. "My heart feels good I’m going to be able to bless his grave site.” (More missing person stories.)