Remains Found Buried Under Train Tracks Identified Nearly 40 Years Later, Raising a New Question in the Investigation

Nearly 40 years after human remains were found buried under a stretch of train tracks in Knoxville, Tenn., authorities were able to identify who they belonged to.

Now, they’re asking new questions as they strive to bring a conclusion to a decades-long investigation.

In a press release on Monday (March 9), the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation announced that they had identified the remains — which had been discovered by railway workers on August 30, 1998 — as belonging to James Robert Benson.

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In their announcement, the department noted that Benson had been last seen in March 1988.

Benson‘s body was found roughly five months later near the Coster Rail Yard, per the release. At the time, authorities were only able to identify him as a white man between the ages of 21 and 30.

He was named a John Doe, and his case was explored over the years with no promising leads emerging.

The case was registered in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. Per a report on NamUs, Benson was found wearing a red shirt that read “Best Italian Restaurant.”

His cause of death has not been announced. However, it was ruled a homicide, and NamUs noted that the body had cuts on it.

A bump in the case occurred in 2023 after the department partnered with the Knoxville Police Department and the Knox County Regional Forensic Center as part of their Unidentified Human Remains DNA Initiative.

A DNA sample was provided to a private lab based in Texas, which led to the identification of possible family members.

In February, authorities reached out to them to obtain a sample and conduct additional testing, confirming the identity.

The positive identification is another step as authorities attempt to determine what happened to Benson after he disappeared. Anyone with leads is urged to contact the Knoxville Police Department Homicide Unit at 865-215-7275.