Nearly 50-Year-Old Mystery of ‘Pinnacle Man’ Solved in Pennsylvania

After nearly five decades, the mystery of the “Pinnacle Man,” whose frozen body was discovered in a Pennsylvania cave in 1977, has been solved. The Berks County Coroner’s Office recently identified the man as Nicholas Paul Grubb, a 27-year-old from Fort Washington, Pennsylvania. Remarkably, the breakthrough in this cold case came not from advanced DNA technology but from a detective’s diligent file review.

Hikers discovered Grubb’s frozen remains on January 16, 1977, near the Pinnacle in the Appalachian Mountains. Despite a thorough investigation, including dental records and fingerprint collection, Grubb’s identity remained elusive for over 40 years. His death was determined to be from a drug-induced overdose, with no evidence of foul play. In 2019, his body was exhumed, and DNA samples were taken, but no matches were found in missing person databases.

The key to solving the case came in August when Pennsylvania State Police detective Ian Keck located the lost fingerprint card from Grubb’s original autopsy. This card led to a match in the FBI database, finally identifying Grubb as the Pinnacle Man. His family, grateful for the closure, plans to bury his remains in the family plot.

This resolution underscores the importance of persistence in solving cold cases and the comfort it can bring to families long left without answers.