WICHITA, Kansas -- For the past 11 years, authorities have been working to solve a homicide -- a very difficult case because the victim doesn’t have a name.

Detective Brad McCaffree started investigating the cold case two years ago but he is very familiar with the details. The body was found on his beat when he was a deputy.

"It’s hard to work a case that the person is unidentified so you look at NCIC hits, missing people from all over the place," said Detective Brad McCaffree, Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office.

"Somebody out there is going to look at this and see something I’m not seeing and maybe give me one more piece of that puzzle that I need to resolve this case."

On October 29th, 1994, KG&E workers were doing community service cleaning up the ditches near 47th Street south and Hoover.

"One of the workers was tugging on some material in the grass a few inches and upon further pulling or tugging, out came some bedding that had been in the ground four to six inches and inside was the skeleton remains of what we believe is a white male," said McCaffree.

Authorities think the man had been buried in the bed sheet for four to six months, putting his time of death between April and June, 1994. As part of the investigation, detectives are not releasing the cause of death, keeping that a fact only they and the killer know.

Detectives released a sketch of the victim detectives released to the public in 1994. Since that time, artists at the Smithsonian Institute, with the help of new x-ray technology, created another drawing and a lieutenant in South Carolina used the skull to sketch another image then used a computer to produce what the victim might look like if he was still alive today.

"It’s a matter of finding out who this individual is and then solving the case giving closure to some family members," said McCaffree.

That’s not easy because there is little to go on. Forensic experts estimate the victim’s age between 22 to 28 years old and his height at about 5 foot 5 to 6 feet tall. Bone mass shows he was in good shape. He was wearing a purple Bugle Boy shirt and khaki shorts.

But the best evidence might come from the skeleton itself. The victim didn’t have any broken bones and his teeth were nearly perfect.

"It does appear one of his front teeth had been pulled or removed at a young age and the two teeth had overlapped, but other than that there’s no cavities, no dental work whatsoever."

In addition to improved sketches of the victim, new technology has given detectives evidence they didn’t have in 1994.

"We’ve got DNA on this individual now. Back then, DNA was virtually unheard of -- it was a new science so we do have him in the database now so if someone comes forward we can confirm through DNA."

But a major piece of the puzzle to solve the homicide case is still missing.

"I need a name for my Jon Doe. Once I get my name, then I’ll find out the rest of the story."

With limited evidence, detectives say it may be a clue from the public that could help them break the case.

"If you don’t have any information, you have to rely on the information to find you because you can only go so far. It’s like a dead end street. At that point you rely on anything -- even the smallest things."

For Detective McCaffree, it’s a case that has become a part of his life, working every day hoping the next tip is the one.

"With the holiday season on us, somebody out there knows this man. Somebody out there is going to have an empty table at their Christmas dinner this year because he is not here."

Detectives say the victim could be from anywhere, not necessarily just Sedgwick County.