Victim ID’d in 1997 Flagler County cold case

Robert Bruce McPhail was 58 when he died

FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – A man who was killed almost 26 years ago in Flagler Beach — unrecognizable after being found floating in the Intracoastal — was recently identified with help from forensic genealogists, according to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.

The individual was identified as Robert Bruce McPhail, who was 58 years old when he was bound, shot, stabbed multiple times and dumped in the water not far from Sea Ray Drive in September 1997, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.

A facial approximation of Robert Bruce McPhail, created by Betty Pat Gatliff of Skullpture Inc. in 1997. (Flagler County Sheriff's Office)

McPhail went by his middle name, “Bruce,” and moved to South Florida sometime in the mid 1990s, the sheriff’s office said. He had a passion for boats and he was originally from Canada, specifically the Winnipeg, Manitoba area, the release states.

A facial approximation of McPhail created in 1997 is his only depiction, as there are no photos of him, the sheriff’s office said.

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The release described how the sheriff’s office’s Cold Case Unit submitted McPhail’s bones to Othram in 2021. Othram works in forensic genealogy “to build a better and more robust infrastructure for justice” through a myriad of resources, according to its website.

Othram’s technology enables local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies across the United States and internationally, to break through previously impenetrable forensic DNA barriers and close previously unsolvable cases.

Othram uniquely performs all casework-related service in-house, with the essential infrastructure and process for testing forensic DNA evidence.

Othram is committed to continuous iteration and improvement, learning from each case and refining our technology and our processes regularly.

"From crime scene to court room." | Othram

More was said about McPhail during the Florida Sheriffs Association Cold Case Advisory Commission, a news conference hosted Thursday morning by Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly.

Anyone with information about McPhail’s life or murder was asked to submit tips through email at TIPS@flaglersheriff.com, or to contact Cold Case Detective Sarah Scalia at SScalia@flaglersheriff.com or 386-313-4911.


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