News 12 at 11 O'clock / Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2014
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW) -- For fourteen years, his name has been John Doe.
The night he lost his life was becoming a fading memory.
On February 8, 2000, a man was found on Commerce Drive, dead from a gunshot but his identity remained a mystery.
"Usually are able to identify a person, very quickly," Mike Bowen, Richmond County Coroner, said.
Investigators compared the other missing people to this John Doe but nothing matched up.
The case passed on to Mark Bowen who came to the coroners office a year later He too searched high and low.
"You always got it in the back of your mind, can I figure out who this is," he said.
Years passed, hope seemed to fade and the case grew cold. The John Doe was buried with no name.
His short life and details surrounding his death was filed into a system all to help families find their lost loved ones.
"If the family looks at it and sees it, they can call us and we can go from there," Bowen said.
Monday morning out of the blue, Bowen got that call. He said the sister of this John Doe was on the other side.
"Through the help of the family," said Bowen."I'm pretty positive we know who he is."
His family said he was visiting Augusta with friends. It was the last time they ever heard from him.
"You always want to help that loved one get their loved one back," he said.
The missing piece was the coroners office. Now, they've helped reunite a family.
"Bring him back home and have some closure," Bowen said.
This John Doe now has a name-- Weshme Louissant.
Investigators say there's no suspect in the case yet. Richmond county investigators are asking contact the Sheriffs Office.
The coroner said the family found a post about an unidentified person who died in the Augusta area. That's when the family could say for certain that it was Louissant.
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