Almost 50 years after a man was discovered frozen in a cave on the Appalachian Trail, officials in Pennsylvania have identified him as the “Pinnacle Man.”

According to the Berks County Coroner’s Office, the man has been identified as Nicolas Paul Grubb, a 27-year-old from Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, who was part of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard in the early 1970s.

Grubb’s body was located on January 16, 1977, by two hikers near a location known as the Pinnacle, which offers stunning views and is situated about 65 miles northwest of Grubb’s hometown. It is believed he had passed away several days prior to being discovered.

At the time, officials created a drawing of Grubb’s face and determined through an autopsy that he died from a drug overdose, labeling it a suicide. Authorities gathered his fingerprints and laid him to rest in Berks County, Pennsylvania.

For more than forty years, there were no significant updates on his case.

“The man remained nameless—a forgotten figure in an old case,” Berks County Coroner John A. Fielding III expressed during a press conference.

Attempts using DNA and genealogy testing were unsuccessful

In the past five years, local authorities collaborated with state and federal officials in efforts to resolve this cold case. In 2019, they exhumed Grubb’s body for DNA samples, but the results were inconclusive. The next year, they tried genealogical testing with a specialized DNA extraction firm, yet this too yielded no definitive results.

After another round of investigation, the coroner’s office sought to create a new sketch of the “Pinnacle Man.” Unfortunately, it was found that the skull was not entirely intact, so facial reconstruction was not feasible. With no other options available, it seemed like the mystery might remain unsolved.

“We were quite disheartened,” stated George Holmes, chief deputy of the Berks County Coroner’s Office at a press conference.

Traditional police work leads to a breakthrough in the cold case

In August, investigators finally found a breakthrough that was unexpected and not the result of high-tech forensic methods, as they had hoped.

A Pennsylvania State Police officer uncovered the original fingerprints that were taken when Grubb was first discovered. These had been misplaced among numerous documents and case files for many years. The original fingerprints held critical ridge detail that was absent from the copies authorities had. Within an hour, a fingerprint analyst from the FBI matched these unique patterns to fingerprints collected from Grubb when he was arrested in Colorado in 1975.

Holmes remarked that “it was just good, old-fashioned police work” that led to this development.

Eventually, the coroner’s office and police managed to locate a family member of Grubb, who positively identified him and provided officials with necessary documents and photographs.

“This is one of those moments that remind us how crucial our work is, in giving answers, providing closure, and giving names and stories to the unidentified,” Fielding told reporters last week.

Mysteries still surround Grubb’s life and death

The investigation is still ongoing as authorities aim to learn more about Grubb, including a clearer understanding of his background and what brought him to the cave where he died.

Holmes noted that there appeared to be no signs of foul play and stated that Grubb was found in a rocky area that was “not easily accessible.”

“It was definitely a place he sought shelter at that moment,” Holmes noted, mentioning that Grubb was wearing “light” clothing and had made attempts to start a fire.

“That’s all we really know from the site,” he stated, “leaving everything else still uncertain for us.”