CA CA - Connie Minchaca, 17, Napa, 9 June 1978

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I also noticed this UID. There is not much info available, but vitals seem to match up:

http://doenetwork.org/hot/hotcase798.html
https://identifyus.org/cases/4389 - Dental chart is here, but I can't find a dental chart for Connie, but apparently there are dental x-rays available for her.

Height is correct:
Connie: 5'5'' - 5'6'', UID: 5'5'' - 5'9''

Age is correct:
Connie: 17 yrs, UID: 17-24 yrs

Timeline is correct:
Connie: 6/9/78, UID: less than 2 yrs in 1980

Haircolor is correct:
Connie: Blonde, but looks brown, UID: Blondish-Brown

Dentals:
Connie: several fillings in her mouth, UID: Dental charts show several fillings


Please let me know what you think! Thanks!
 
From what little information is available, it looks pretty good to me. We don't know anything about why Connie disappeared. If she left voluntarily, she could have easily traveled the 400 miles from Napa to the Los Angeles area, before being picked up by a predator.

If she disappeared from Napa involuntary, I would tend to doubt it because it appears that the perpetrator selected his victims locally.

I am familiar with the Santa Clarita / Valencia area. In fact, just last week, I was at the Marie Callenders right down the street from where those bodies were found.

My sister used to have a horse stabled there back in the late 70s. It appears that the two bodies were dumped just north of the Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement park. It was one of the first areas North of the San Fernando Valley that you come to when heading out of the population centers. So I would suspect that the perp picked up his victims from south of where they were found, and dumped them there because it was convenient and relatively unpopulated. Coming from the North, there would have been plenty of other convenient places to dump them before reaching Santa Clarita.

But since there is no way to find out the circumstances of her disappearance aside from the quick blurb in Charley, I would turn it in and find out whether she has been ruled-out. All available info is consistent.
 
I called the Detective in charge of the UID's case and left a message. I will update if I hear anything.

Tara
 
Det. Kennerly, who was extremely prompt and friendly, just called me back to let me know that Connie and the UID were ruled out on dentals in 2/2008 per a request from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
 
There is very little information on Connie Minchaca in NAMUS.

This UID from Pennsylvania could be her:

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/11ufpa.html

https://identifyus.org/en/cases/5166

PA PA - Perry County - "Turquiose Doe" 11UFPA, 15-30, 20 June 1979 - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community


There are 47 exclusions, Connie is not one of them.

Connie has fillings, so does the UID.

Details such as height, hair color, and timing match.

Connie has dimples. Based on the artist sketch take a look at the cheeks, it looks as though the UID could have dimples if she smiled.

She was also wearing "Navaho or Zuni" jewelry. Before she was found in Pennsylvania she probably traveled through the southwest.
 
When searching for Connie in the California Birth Index, 1905-1995, on Ancestry, I located the following:

Name: Connie G. Faulk
Birth Date: 6 Oct 1960
Gender: Female
Mother's Maiden Name: Talbott
Birth County: Solano

Solano County is next to Napa County. At the time of Connie's birth many Napans used the Kaiser Hospital in Vallejo. This probably accounts for her birth place. Minchaca is the surname of her stepfather.

While searching the Napa Register and Vallejo Times Herald for an article about her disappearance, I came up with nothing. But I did discover that 8 Jun 1978, the day before Connie disappeared, was the last day of school for all high schools in Napa. She was not listed as a graduate of any of the high schools. Her remarried mother disappears from the Napa city directory after 1977. Public records on Ancestry reveal a San Jose address for the mother and stepfather. Perhaps Connie decided to hitch to San Jose and see her mother for the summer. Connie's father, Wesley Ray Faulk, passed away on 16 Apr 1993 in Napa. His obituary did not mention Connie. Connie's Minchaca stepfather and mother appear to still be living.
 
I just found an interesting article with more information about Connie & her disappearance.

http://napavalleyregister.com/news/...cle_74bba86a-acd0-5eb3-a5af-e83f18caafd1.html

"Connie lived with her father at the time of the disappearance. She had some problems at home because her family didn't approve of the 25-year-old-man she was dating and would sneak out of her window at night to meet him.Family members would call police when they found the room empty, and officers would usually pick her up en route to meet the boyfriend.Police have at least six reports of Connie running away from home on file in the months before she disappeared.But Connie's parents don't believe her disappearance was just another runaway case. They say she left all of her belongings behind and parted company in a happy mood.Connie planned on attending a party on the night she disappeared. A family friend leaving the Menchaca house gave Connie a ride to a Western clothing store in the late afternoon, where she was supposed to meet a friend.After that, the police and her family have no information about where she went.Friends claim she never arrived at the party.In the weeks that followed the disappearance, Andrew said she was tormented by mysterious phone calls. The caller, sometimes a man and sometimes a woman, would claim to know what happened to Connie.The callers were never identified.At times the caller said she was kidnapped and other times said she was killed. "
 
taramarie said:
I just found an interesting article with more information about Connie & her disappearance.

http://napavalleyregister.com/news/...cle_74bba86a-acd0-5eb3-a5af-e83f18caafd1.html

"Connie lived with her father at the time of the disappearance. She had some problems at home because her family didn't approve of the 25-year-old-man she was dating and would sneak out of her window at night to meet him.Family members would call police when they found the room empty, and officers would usually pick her up en route to meet the boyfriend.Police have at least six reports of Connie running away from home on file in the months before she disappeared.But Connie's parents don't believe her disappearance was just another runaway case. They say she left all of her belongings behind and parted company in a happy mood.Connie planned on attending a party on the night she disappeared. A family friend leaving the Menchaca house gave Connie a ride to a Western clothing store in the late afternoon, where she was supposed to meet a friend.After that, the police and her family have no information about where she went.Friends claim she never arrived at the party.In the weeks that followed the disappearance, Andrew said she was tormented by mysterious phone calls. The caller, sometimes a man and sometimes a woman, would claim to know what happened to Connie.The callers were never identified.At times the caller said she was kidnapped and other times said she was killed. "
Click to expand...

I Came across the photos that were found in the possession of serial killer William Richard Brandford who said he was a modeling photographer. There is a girl in one of his photos that to me has a resemblance to Connie.. the girl looks a bit thinner and older but I still think it looks alot like her even her nose. hope this helps http://crime.about.com/od/missing/ig/50missingwomen/missingwomen38.htm
 
madamx said:
I Came across the photos that were found in the possession of serial killer William Richard Brandford who said he was a modeling photographer. There is a girl in one of his photos that to me has a resemblance to Connie.. the girl looks a bit thinner and older but I still think it looks alot like her even her nose. hope this helps http://crime.about.com/od/missing/ig/50missingwomen/missingwomen38.htm
Click to expand...

It looks a bit like her. But Connie has blue eyes, the girl in the photo looks like she has darker eyes, perhaps brown.
 
You guys! I think this might be her!

https://www.identifyus.org/en/cases/full_report/13916

Since it's only partial skeletal remains, only a DNA sample will tell us for sure. However, many physical details match, and the timing of her disappearance and the UP being found is very promising. Additionally, the theme of a vineyard, while not at all conclusive, seems like an interesting detail, as Connie was from Napa, home of some of the world's best vineyards, and an excellent place to bury a body. If she was running away and was killed, I-5 would be the most convenient place to dump her in a shallow grave off the highway.

Anyways, sorry for the rambling theories! I submitted it for a potential match and we will see what happens! Fingers crossed! :) Comments or follow up conversation welcomed!

-onelessjdoe
 
onelessjdoe said:
You guys! I think this might be her!

https://www.identifyus.org/en/cases/full_report/13916

Since it's only partial skeletal remains, only a DNA sample will tell us for sure. However, many physical details match, and the timing of her disappearance and the UP being found is very promising. Additionally, the theme of a vineyard, while not at all conclusive, seems like an interesting detail, as Connie was from Napa, home of some of the world's best vineyards, and an excellent place to bury a body. If she was running away and was killed, I-5 would be the most convenient place to dump her in a shallow grave off the highway.

Anyways, sorry for the rambling theories! I submitted it for a potential match and we will see what happens! Fingers crossed! :) Comments or follow up conversation welcomed!

-onelessjdoe
Click to expand...

This seems like such a great match - however both Connie and the Jane Doe have DNA tests completed in Namus though so if they were a match it would already have been picked up.

Thank you for posting this though, I heard about Connie's case on another Jane Doe thread a while back and have been meaning to look her up and this has reminded me!
 
Steph54 said:
Connie's father, Wesley Ray Faulk, passed away on 16 Apr 1993 in Napa. His obituary did not mention Connie. Connie's Minchaca stepfather and mother appear to still be living.
Click to expand...

By the by, Connie's maternal grandmother's obituary from 2003 refers to Connie as still living and uses Faulk as Connie's surname.
 
sunnynz said:
This seems like such a great match - however both Connie and the Jane Doe have DNA tests completed in Namus though so if they were a match it would already have been picked up.

Thank you for posting this though, I heard about Connie's case on another Jane Doe thread a while back and have been meaning to look her up and this has reminded me!
Click to expand...

Just got an email from Doe Network that the DNA has never been compared. There is still hope! [emoji1317]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
sunnynz said:
By the by, Connie's maternal grandmother's obituary from 2003 refers to Connie as still living and uses Faulk as Connie's surname.
Click to expand...

I always like to maintain hope that she's still alive, and I'm sure her grandmother felt the same way. In regards to the Faulk last name, wasn't that her fathers name?

As for the DNA, since she went missing in the 1970's, and DNA didn't become a real big deal until the mid-1990's, its possible hers wasn't run against matches yet. Just food for thought.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
onelessjdoe said:
Just got an email from Doe Network that the DNA has never been compared. There is still hope! [emoji1317]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

That is interesting, I don't know how Doe Network works and am only going on what I've been told by Dustin Driscoll at Namus: "If you see DNA marked as “Complete” for each case, they would have hit in the DNA database, so you do not need to send those matches in as they automatically search against each other."

I would have thought that Doe and Namus would communicate that kind of thing with each other to save on resources but I really am not familiar with the processes and politics of that side of things. Please do keep us posted on what they come back with.
 
onelessjdoe said:
I always like to maintain hope that she's still alive, and I'm sure her grandmother felt the same way. In regards to the Faulk last name, wasn't that her fathers name?

As for the DNA, since she went missing in the 1970's, and DNA didn't become a real big deal until the mid-1990's, its possible hers wasn't run against matches yet. Just food for thought.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Yes Faulk was her father's name. Per my response to onelessdoe just now - it seems as though both women's DNA has already been run in Namus but will wait to see what comes back from Doe Network, seems like the two organisations run differently.
 
madamx said:
I Came across the photos that were found in the possession of serial killer William Richard Brandford who said he was a modeling photographer. There is a girl in one of his photos that to me has a resemblance to Connie.. the girl looks a bit thinner and older but I still think it looks alot like her even her nose. hope this helps http://crime.about.com/od/missing/ig/50missingwomen/missingwomen38.htm
Click to expand...

Which picture? #2 and #38 look somewhat like her but I don't think either is.
 
onelessjdoe said:
You guys! I think this might be her!

https://www.identifyus.org/en/cases/full_report/13916

Since it's only partial skeletal remains, only a DNA sample will tell us for sure. However, many physical details match, and the timing of her disappearance and the UP being found is very promising. Additionally, the theme of a vineyard, while not at all conclusive, seems like an interesting detail, as Connie was from Napa, home of some of the world's best vineyards, and an excellent place to bury a body. If she was running away and was killed, I-5 would be the most convenient place to dump her in a shallow grave off the highway.

Anyways, sorry for the rambling theories! I submitted it for a potential match and we will see what happens! Fingers crossed! :) Comments or follow up conversation welcomed!

-onelessjdoe
Click to expand...

Connie is on the NamUs rule out list for this UID: https://identifyus.org/en/cases/13916.
 
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