It is my belief that these are the children BUT let me tell you why most people would disagree.
Circumstances: On July 10, 1979, the skeletal remains of a white female and of a white male were found near Hwy. 20, West of Willits, in Mendocino Co., CA.
The estimated date of death is 12/8/1978.
Jane is estimated to be 14 years old and was about 5'5-1/2" in height. She was wearing the pictured hoop with a pearched-bird earring (pierced-ear type).
John is estimated to be 13 years old and was about 5'5" in height. It is possible these children were related, perhaps brother and sister.
The photographs are computer-generated facial reconstructions done by a forensic artist at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Features such as eyes color, nose, size of lips and ears are the estimations of the artist to complete the image and should not be used as a significant marker for identification.
Michael Reinert age 10 on left, John Doe age 13 on right
[font=arial,verdana,geneva,lucida][size=-1]http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/111umca.html[/size][/font]
Karen on left age 11 - Jane Doe on right estimated age 14
[font=arial,verdana,geneva,lucida][size=-1]http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/131ufca.html[/size][/font]
1. The children went missing June 22, 1979 in Pennsylvania - these children were found just weeks later on July 10, 1979 but were SKELETAL at that time so the coroner estimated the date of death to be December 1978 (or 6 months before being found).
***Is it possible that some kind of chemical was used to destroy the children's bodies so much that the time of death is incorrect? This would have had to have been accomplished within a matter of weeks and NOT been detected by the coroner.
2. John and Jane Doe were found in California, Michael and Karen disappeared in Pennsylvania.
***There was enough time to travel to California... why though? California is very far. Perhaps to throw law enforcement off? Maybe they were going to be sold and something happened? If they were brought to California to be sold then it delays the death, which again shortens the available time to "decompose" the bodies.
3. Michael was 10 and John Doe is estimated at 13
Karen was 11 and Jane Doe is estimated at 14
***although the ages are off by 3 years for both, they are consistent in that Jane is one year older than John.
4. I feel the reconstructions strongly resemble the children - others may disagree.
5. I don't know if its because they've been declared legally dead, but there is no listing for the Reinert children on the Missing and Exploited Children site, nor the Doe Network.
Does that mean that they have been removed from the system and therefore no match is possible because nobody is looking for them anymore?
6. Did Karen have pierced ears? I could find no information about this.
I don't know if anyone has even submitted this possibility. I am assuming someone has because its too obvious. Perhaps I've assumed too much?
Or perhaps I'm completely wrong and this is another brother and sister who disappeared at that time and simply resemble the remains?
