WRENTHAM, Mass. (WPRI) — Among the polished granite headstones at Central Cemetery lies a meager circular marker bearing only a number.

Number 18’s marker includes no name or epitaph like the others interred at the Wrentham cemetery.

That’s because the marker belongs to an unidentified man who died more than five decades ago.

Number 18 is one of several bodies buried in a portion of the cemetery called Potters Field — where unknown remains and those without families have been laid to rest.

Raymond Rose, the town’s cemetery parks manager, told 12 News he was rummaging through his filing cabinets when he came across something peculiar.

“Under ‘U’ for unidentified was a card for an unidentified skeleton,” Rose recalled. “So, being as naturally curious as I am, I took that to the next step.”

Rose feverishly researched the skeleton’s potential origin and eventually uncovered newspaper clippings dating back to April 1974.

The headline immediately caught his eye: “Hikers find skeleton in Wrentham woods.”

Naif Rojee and his friend made the grisly discovery while wandering through the woods off of Route 140 near the Eagle Brook pumping station.

“I saw the skull first,” Rojee said. “But then there were black sneakers near it … and there were foot bones in them.”

Fred True, who served as the Wrentham Police Department’s photographer at the time, remembers responding to that call.

“There was a noose hanging from a tree and some sneakers,” the former patrolman said, adding that a pair of gym shorts, American and Canadian coins and an empty wallet were also found nearby.

Detectives believed the bones had been there for a couple of years, and the skeletal remains left behind little to no identifying clues.

The unidentified remains spent two years at the Massachusetts State Police Crime Lab in Boston before being laid to rest.

Rose noticed the record card for the remains was marked with an “X,” which typically means a vault was buried alongside the body.

“What I’m assuming is there’s a miniature vault down there,” Rose said. “[The grave] hasn’t been touched since 1976.”

That all changed Monday, when the Massachusetts State Police exhumed the remains in an attempt to identify them.

Rose, who has spearheaded the effort alongside the Wrentham Historic Commission, hopes to one day replace the Number 18 marker with a proper headstone bearing the man’s name and an epitaph.

“I think we owe it to this individual and his family to try and solve this mystery,” Rose said.

The state medical examiner will test the bones and attempt to create a DNA profile. Rose said he’s “pretty confident” that the medical examiner will come up with a viable DNA sequence.

“But whether there is a match is anybody’s guess,” he added.

The man’s remains will be returned to the cemetery once DNA testing is complete, according to Rose.

Rojee, meanwhile, went on to become an officer in the neighboring town of Franklin. He believes an abandoned vehicle, which was found parked nearby a few years prior, may offer a vital clue.

“If [the detectives] find the log item from when that car was towed, they might be able to find out who it is,” Rojee suggested.

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