EUREKA — Stabbed in the jugular and left in an abandoned Wayne County house, the body of a Hispanic man has been unidentified for two dozen years.

The man died of stab wounds to the neck and head with homicide listed as the manner of death in an autopsy report completed by Dr. Nervy Kornegay.

The man was stabbed six times: once to the left side of his scalp, twice to his jaw that caused a fracture and thrice to his neck, including the jugular vein.

An uninvolved party found the body July 6, 1997, in an abandoned house on Old Mill Road in the Lancaster Lands community near Eureka in Wayne County, one-eighth of a mile from the Greene County line.

The man had been dead for a few days prior to his body’s discovery in an advanced state of decomposition and putrefaction.

Washed ashore, unearthed in shallow graves, stumbled upon in the woods, discovered in abandoned houses, killed on busy roads and located in rivers, ponds and along railroad tracks, more than 120 bodies remain unidentified in North Carolina. This is one of their stories.

The man stood 5 feet, 5 inches tall and  weighed 104 pounds. He is believed to be 32 to 42 years old. He had black hair with a mustache and an unknown eye color.

The man wore a striped T-shirt, black jeans and size 31 underwear briefs.

Dental information is available with central and lateral upper incisors shovel shaped, indicating possible Native American heritage. Fingerprints and DNA are available, according to information from the Doe Network, a volunteer-run international clearinghouse for unidentified and missing person cases.

The man’s National Missing and Unidentified Person System case number is 2808, with the investigating agency listed as the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office. Anyone with information can call 919-731-1481.