Crime & Safety
Atlantic City, NJ Cold Case: 1981 Remains Identified After 45 Years
Atlantic City, NJ – A man whose remains were recovered about a mile off Atlantic City in 1981 has been identified more than four decades later through advances in forensic DNA testing and investigativ
By Lauren Beckett · 2026-10-01T17:56:23.247Z
Atlantic City, NJ – A man whose remains were recovered about a mile off Atlantic City in 1981 has been identified more than four decades later through advances in forensic DNA testing and investigative genetic genealogy.
According to the New Jersey State Police , unidentified human remains were recovered approximately one mile offshore from Raleigh Avenue on May 22, 1981. Earlier DNA testing and entry of the unidentified person’s profile into the Combined DNA Index System produced no matches.
Investigators with the State Police Missing Persons Unit later turned to investigative genetic genealogy , using genealogical research conducted by Ramapo College.
That work produced a potential identity: Glen Napoleon Burbage , born April 12, 1921.
Police said investigators determined Burbage was a retired United States Coast Guard chief warrant officer from Charleston, South Carolina . Detectives learned he traveled by air to Atlantic City in March 1981 and was never heard from again.
To confirm the identification, New Jersey investigators worked with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division to obtain a DNA reference sample from Burbage’s family.
A one to one familial DNA comparison conducted by the New Jersey State Police Central Laboratory conclusively identified the remains as Burbage, authorities said.
The agency credited Othram Inc., the Ramapo College Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center, South Carolina authorities and its own forensic laboratory with helping resolve the decades old unidentified person case.
While Burbage has now been identified, police said the circumstances surrounding his disappearance and death remain under investigation .
Anyone with information is asked to contact the New Jersey State Police Missing Persons Unit at missingpinformation@njsp.gov . Anonymous tips are accepted.