AR AR - Mellwood, WhtFem UP2885, 20-60, floating in Mississippi River, pants inside out, Jul'89

CarlK90245

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I brought this case up in the Missing but Not Forgotten forum, but I'll put it here too:

The Doe Network:
Case 942UFAR
942UFAR
NamUs Case 2885: The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

No Image Available

Unidentified White Female

* The victim was discovered on July 7, 1989 in Mellwood, Phillips County, Arkansas
* Probable Year of Death: 1989
* State of Remains: Decomposed

Vital Statistics

* Estimated age: 20-60 years old
* Approximate Height and Weight: 5'5"; 107 lbs.
* Distinguishing Characteristics: 1 linear scar noted on the medial surface of the right knee, measuring 2 1/2 inches in length; there are transversely oriented linear scars of the left wrist, each measuring 1 inch and grouped in pairs of 2.
* Clothing: Gray slacks which are inverted and inner seams are apparent externally; white nylon panties; white bra; blue t-shirt with short sleeves.
* Dentals: Available; #3 root canal mesio-occluo-buccio-lingual alloy, #4 root canal mesio-occlusal alloy, #7 mesiolingual composite, #8 distolingual; mesiolingual composite, #9 root canal mesio.
* DNA: No sample available to submit

Case History
The victim was found floating face up by a tugboat crew, in the Mississippi river at marker 617, in Mellwood, Arkansas on July 7, 1989.

Investigators
If you have any information about this case please contact:
Phillips County Coroners Office
870-338-1253
You may remain anonymous when submitting information.

Agency Case Number:
333-89

NCIC Number:
U-610022486

<MOD NOTE: Several original links throughout the thread were broken and have been edited to include the current link (when available) and images as of June 27, 2023>
 
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This looks like it could be Lynn Ann Thompson.

1687895410043.jpeg
Lynn went missing on 26-Jun-1989, and her car was abandoned in Terre Haute, IN. The UID was found in the Mississippi River on 07-Jul-1989 (i.e., 11 days later). The Wabash River cuts through Terre Haute, and continues into the Ohio River, which then feeds into the Mississippi. This appears to be about a 500 mile distance between Terre Haute and Mellwood, Arkansas.

Is 45 miles per day a reasonable rate of flow for the Wabash, Ohio, and Mississippi rivers?

She is not on the NamUs rule-out list for this UID.

It's a little difficult to match these cases on vital stats because there is no height information available for Lynn, and the age range on the UID is pretty wide.

The UID has several scars (paired in twos) on her left wrist, oriented crossways. This would seem to suggest (if the victim was right handed) that she may have attempted suicide earlier in life. There is nothing in Lynn's narrative to suggest that she has ever been suicidal. But then again, there is very little information at all in her narrative.
 
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NamUs has some pretty detailed dental info on the UID. An interesting detail is that she has a removable partial denture in place of her #29 and 30 (i.e., lower right 2nd bicuspid and 1st molar).

BTW, on the chart it indicates "P" (Postmortem Loss) for these two teeth. This is probably an error, as it should say "A" (Antemortem Loss) if she had removable dentures.
 
Regarding the flow, <modsnip: broken link> (not the most reliable source but I'm struggling, here) suggests an average flow of 5-6 knots depending on the level of water on the Lower Mississippi.

1 knot = 1.15 mph.

I think in July the flow would be much less, though not as low in September, before rain kicks in and raises the level again.

I think any body that entered the water would also take a while to float, and hence the flow would be much less or zero for perhaps two days (from memory).

This means that for a body to traverse 500 miles of river in 9 days, it would need to average 4 1/6 mph. This is approximately 65% of the average flow given if you take the midpoint of 5.5 knots.

Clearly there's no way to model exactly what would have happened - and a two hour drive in contemplation before jumping would equate to two days' flow anyway - but the numbers don't seem completely unreasonable to me.
 
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I suppose this could be Kim Mallon who went missing at age 13 in 1973. That would have made her 29 which would put her in the right age group. She was 5'3" at 13 and surely could have grown an inch or two. There is not much on her, not even a picture of her when she was 13, the picture posted her looks like she was about 5 or 6 years old to me. But she did have scars on both wrists at age 13 when she went missing.

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/2173dfca.html
 
This looks like it could be Lynn Ann Thompson.

1687895479916.jpeg
Lynn went missing on 26-Jun-1989, and her car was abandoned in Terre Haute, IN. The UID was found in the Mississippi River on 07-Jul-1989 (i.e., 11 days later). The Wabash River cuts through Terre Haute, and continues into the Ohio River, which then feeds into the Mississippi. This appears to be about a 500 mile distance between Terre Haute and Mellwood, Arkansas.

Is 45 miles per day a reasonable rate of flow for the Wabash, Ohio, and Mississippi rivers?

She is not on the NamUs rule-out list for this UID.

It's a little difficult to match these cases on vital stats because there is no height information available for Lynn, and the age range on the UID is pretty wide.

The UID has several scars (paired in twos) on her left wrist, oriented crossways. This would seem to suggest (if the victim was right handed) that she may have attempted suicide earlier in life. There is nothing in Lynn's narrative to suggest that she has ever been suicidal. But then again, there is very little information at all in her narrative.

I can't get the map to post, but -- the location where her car was found is less than a mile from the Wabash. Possibly as little as half a mile dependingon where in the lot the car was found. The route Googlemaps suggests from Prairie View to the plaza takes you directly past that part of the river. Also, it's only a couple of blocks off I-70, which crosses the river. Since they suspect foul play, it's an entirely logical route for a murderer to have taken to dump the body.
 
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Regarding the flow, <modsnip: broken quote> (not the most reliable source but I'm struggling, here) suggests an average flow of 5-6 knots depending on the level of water on the Lower Mississippi.

1 knot = 1.15 mph.

I think in July the flow would be much less, though not as low in September, before rain kicks in and raises the level again.

I think any body that entered the water would also take a while to float, and hence the flow would be much less or zero for perhaps two days (from memory).

This means that for a body to traverse 500 miles of river in 9 days, it would need to average 4 1/6 mph. This is approximately 65% of the average flow given if you take the midpoint of 5.5 knots.

Clearly there's no way to model exactly what would have happened - and a two hour drive in contemplation before jumping would equate to two days' flow anyway - but the numbers don't seem completely unreasonable to me.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_Storm_Allison_(1989)

River could have been flowing high and fast: Tropical Storm Allison had moved through at the end of June.

eta: pointer to the map of rainfall totals: File:Allison 1989 rainfall.png - Wikipedia
 
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I can't get the map to post, but -- the location where her car was found is less than a mile from the Wabash.

When posting google maps links after setting your view, you need to click on "Link" at the upper right of the map, copy the code under "Paste Link in e-mail or IM", and paste it into your post.

The address stated in Charley (i.e., US 41 and Davis Drive) corresponds to the Honey Creek Mall.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sou...4237,-87.42362&spn=0.019291,0.032701&t=h&z=15

However, the KMart is not at that location. It is a few blocks south of the mall at Springhill Drive. Maybe the KMart changed locations since 1989.

But whichever location, the location of her car is very close to the river. From the mall, depending on where the car was parked, it is less than a mile from the riverbank.
 
When posting google maps links after setting your view, you need to click on "Link" at the upper right of the map, copy the code under "Paste Link in e-mail or IM", and paste it into your post.

The address stated in Charley (i.e., US 41 and Davis Drive) corresponds to the Honey Creek Mall.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sou...4237,-87.42362&spn=0.019291,0.032701&t=h&z=15

However, the KMart is not at that location. It is a few blocks south of the mall at Springhill Drive. Maybe the KMart changed locations since 1989.

But whichever location, the location of her car is very close to the river. From the mall, depending on where the car was parked, it is less than a mile from the riverbank.

Thanks for the directions. I'll try that next time.

I was assuming the address was an approximation to that general shopping area, which is all about a mile from the river and a mile from the interstate, as you point out. Everything certainly seems to point to her being a possibility.
 
Thanks for the directions. I'll try that next time.

I was assuming the address was an approximation to that general shopping area, which is all about a mile from the river and a mile from the interstate, as you point out. Everything certainly seems to point to her being a possibility.

A couple of things that I noticed from the Google view.

(1) If you look in street view at the area next to the river, you can see that it is very lush with vegetation to provide cover to someone who wishes to dispose of a body into the river. Also there is a roadside area to park a car unnoticed.

(2) There is a federal prison just south of the riverbank point marked on the map. Not sure if there is any relevance there, but interesting nevertheless.
 
A couple of things that I noticed from the Google view.

(1) If you look in street view at the area next to the river, you can see that it is very lush with vegetation to provide cover to someone who wishes to dispose of a body into the river. Also there is a roadside area to park a car unnoticed.

(2) There is a federal prison just south of the riverbank point marked on the map. Not sure if there is any relevance there, but interesting nevertheless.

I notice that when you go to street view, you can't see the water at all. Yeah, really hidden, but looks quite accessible.

I noticed the prison, but I couldn't imagine how that would be related. It's not like whoever dumped her would have walked back inside, or anything. But it is odd.
 
I notice that when you go to street view, you can't see the water at all. Yeah, really hidden, but looks quite accessible.

I noticed the prison, but I couldn't imagine how that would be related. It's not like whoever dumped her would have walked back inside, or anything. But it is odd.

I think a prison vastly increases the number of dodgy types who know a town or neighbourhood... not so much because of the inmates, once their sentence is finished they want to take off to just about anywhere else, but because of the people who visit the inmates. This isn't helped by the way so many prisons don't have great transport to them, so unless you've got a car you might be stuck in the town looking for something to do for hours before and after your visit.
 
Good point. Thanks.

Being a large commercial area, it probably also attracts truckers and other through traffic. Another potential pool of dodgy types.
 
I'd say 5'5" to 5'7" is not far enough off to eliminate her. I think she's definitely worth sending in.
 
I called this case in on the MP side to the Crime Stoppers hotline number provided in Lynn Thompson's Charley Project page. She gave me a reference number (CSI 281-327), and advised me to call back in two weeks for a follow-up.

I also left a message with Chris Edwards of the Arkansas Crime Lab. I have two other cases called in to him that I need to follow-up on, and he also indicated that he was going to check for me whether the CODIS hit of Jerry Lee Armstrong to DoeNet case 661UMAR was ever confirmed. I will mention this case to him when I have him on the phone again.
 
I made a call to the Crime Stoppers follow-up line (which is quite difficult to reach), and finally got through.

The detective put me on hold while he called the detective in charge of Lynn Thompson's MP case. After talking to him, he said that the detective is still working on a disposition. They indicated some doubts, but they have not positively ruled her out. He asked the detective whether the doubts were strong enough that they should go ahead and close the disposition on it, and they said no. They want to follow this through to a definite rule-out or confirmation.

I also have submitted this case (on the UID side) to Chris Edwards of the Arkansas Crime lab, so he is looking into it as well. Chris is quite busy though, so I try not to call him too often for updates on this and the three other open possibles that I have with him.
 
I don't know how they are going to get any meaningful input from the public when the age range is so wide and they don't even have a hair color for the deceased.

they had her head (they got her dentals) so I find it hard to believe there was NO head or body hair they could have found to help narrow down the universe of possible matches.

with that, there are all of 6 rules outs. the profile was last updated March 1, 2011, which I think was common across the board at Namus.

Lynn Thompson is not on the short list here.

Susan Burns 1956 Arkansas
Carol Donn 1963 Florida
Rebecca Gary 1956 Louisiana
Hazel Klug 1962 Virginia
Deborah McCall 1963 Illinois
Patricia Schmidt 1964 Virginia
 
with that, there are all of 6 rules outs. the profile was last updated March 1, 2011, which I think was common across the board at Namus.

Lynn Thompson is not on the short list here.

Susan Burns 1956 Arkansas
Carol Donn 1963 Florida
Rebecca Gary 1956 Louisiana
Hazel Klug 1962 Virginia
Deborah McCall 1963 Illinois
Patricia Schmidt 1964 Virginia

Two more rule-outs on the list:

Mary Shinn 1953 Arkansas
Billie Willard 1941 North Carolina

Mellwood is less than 100 miles downriver from I-40 where it passes through Memphis; it's very possible our UID's body was dumped in the river in that area.
 

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