CA CA - Shirley Stevens, 48, Long Beach, 1 Nov 1970

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MorningStar

MorningStar

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Hi, I am Shirley's granddaughter and I wrote the blog about her. When I first started my search, I wanted to submit a DNA sample to the FBI's missing persons DNA program when I read about it. I didn't want to ask her children a bunch of questions and get their hopes up or upset them, but detectives wanted info, so I asked my mom. Years ago when we were in California, she thought she had a lead and I still remember the way she cried and hugged my dad when the people we went to visit didn't know anything about her.

I wrote the blog in 2006 when Shirley had been missing for about 37 years. My mom provided a medical receipt with the SS# on it and is pretty positive about her height and weight, but when I see any cases involving Jane Does that are similar at all, I follow it. You just never know in what areas memories will fail after all this time.

Thank you for the time and effort put in to helping find my grandmother. Today I left a message with a detective about an unsolved case from 1976. The description is very close - no teeth, same hair, height very close. She wasn't known for being in that area, but you never know. There is no record of her death in the SS death index, so either she isn't dead or she was never identified.

Today I read about a woman found alive in Florida after being missing for 41 years. Some other remains were mistaken for her and they had a memorial service for her. Sad that the deceased woman was never identified.

FROM THE MODS:

We can not edit dates, to I can not put the posts in proper order. The opening posts follow post 11. Hope it is not too confusing.

Prayers for Shirley's family.

Salem
 
MorningStar said:
Hello! If you are the person I talked to over e-mail, then it would be me and my mom. I think out of all of the children, she has been the most open about this situation. Some of my cousins didn't even know about my grandma abandoning her children. When my grandpa died, my mom and her siblings had a memorial for both of them after years of receiving no answers. When the Internet and DNA technology developed, I started to feel very hopeful that it would be possible to find her. It is really hard for Shirley's children to get their hopes up after being disappointed so many times.

No, I haven't been contacted by Vernon County Sheriffs, but I'll check into that case. Thank you! Once in a while, I'll do a search for "Jane Doe no teeth" and see what comes up (because my grandma's teeth all fell out). That brought up an unsolved case in Mobile County Alabama from 1976 - woman in her mid 50's. It blows my mind how many unidentified remains there are because I know someone was missing that person. My mom thinks it's unlikely she would have left California, but I'll follow anything if the description matches.
Click to expand...


The article you posted is eerily similar to the Vernon County Jane Doe!

I replied to your PM to let you know exactly what transpired, I appreciate the message :)
 
Thanks! This case sounds possible, especially considering it says her teeth fell out long before her death. My granda's teeth were gone by her 30's. My mom used to think it was from gum disease, but her sister said they were knocked out in the accident that also left the gash in her shin. I'm wondering if the bone itself would show damage from that. The first time I realized she might have suffered a violent death, I didn't even mention that to my mom. I checked on a case in Michigan matching her description where another sicko had cut off the victim's hands. After speaking to the detective, he said some traits didn't match up.
 
Hi...

My daughter is MorningStar and I am Shirley's daughter - the bride in the photo. My mother must have been wearing heels, because I am taller than her.

As for the photo of the deceased that someone sent MorningStar -- it's not of my mother. She was tiny and frail, had a long slender nose, but it was not hooked, and her chin was longer. Mom had slim lips and small ears.

I've never known her to have a perm, because she had naturally wavy hair, and it was slow to gray. I'm the same way at 64.

Also, Mom had her appendix out and a hysterectomy, if that helps. She had a very bad scar on the front of her lower leg, and dentures top and bottom. I believe she wore a size 7 1/2 shoe.

On a personal note: My mom was a wonderful person and I loved her very much, in spite of her bad choices. She was artistic, funny, and was always interested in what was going on in our lives, just not capable of fixing herself. So sad.

Thanks for all that you do.

Penelope
 
pljnw said:
The injury to my mother's left leg was on the outside, below the knee. It is a significant gouge.

http://www.twitpic.com/5n1hx9

This is a photo of her in 1947. She was pregnant with me. :)

Penny
Click to expand...


Penny,

I applaud you and your daughter for your dedication and willingness to share Shirley's (your mothers) story. I'm a bit short on words today, but I hope you and your family remain strong. As I wrote to your daughter MorningStar, don't hesitate to reach out to me anytime.

Best!

Sam
 
Morning Star and pljnw,

I hope you find out what happened to your grandma/mom. Your family deserves closure.

Did you ever check www.namus.gov under Unidentified Persons?


Here is the link to the WI Jane Doe from NamUs. It lists no ruleouts.

https://identifyus.org/cases/4786
 
chaddylex said:
Morning Star and pljnw,

I hope you find out what happened to your grandma/mom. Your family deserves closure.

Did you ever check www.namus.gov under Unidentified Persons?


Here is the link to the WI Jane Doe from NamUs. It lists no ruleouts.

https://identifyus.org/cases/4786
Click to expand...



Yes, she's set up on NameUs, about a year ago. I posted pics, birth cert, and her signature from a letter. Prob not needed, but can't hurt.


Thank you Chaddylex
 
to Morningstar and pljnw, thank you both for participating in this forum. I know it must be difficult not knowing what happened to your mother/grandmother, but it must provide some comfort to know that there are people like us at WS who take our own time to try to match the missing persons to the unidentified deceaseds.
 
webrocket said:
to Morningstar and pljnw, thank you both for participating in this forum. I know it must be difficult not knowing what happened to your mother/grandmother, but it must provide some comfort to know that there are people like us at WS who take our own time to try to match the missing persons to the unidentified deceaseds.
Click to expand...

Yes, it is a comfort. I have spent many hours looking through records for possible matches and I can only do that for so long due to time, children, and also the fact that it's so sad, I need to focus on something pleasant for a while.
 
Shirley Elizabeth Stevens
Missing since November 1, 1970 from Long Beach, Los Angeles County, California
Classification: Missing

Vital Statistics
  • Date Of Birth: December 18, 1921
  • Age at Time of Disappearance: 48 years old
  • Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 59-61"; 110-120 lbs.
  • Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Graying brown hair, fine and slightly wavy; blue eyes.
  • Marks, Scars: Large scar on the front of one of her legs from a train accident.
  • Fingerprints: Available
  • Medical: Alcoholism
Circumstances of Disappearance
Shirley Stevens was last heard from around 1970 or 1971.
She phoned her mother in Seattle to tell her she thought she had cirrhosis of the liver and needed money.
It is unknown where she was at the time, but she may have been in CA, because she lived there for years. She was married twice and had five children


http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/3003dfca.html


http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/s/stevens_shirley.html
 
If Carl or someone can copy over the photo of Shirley from Charley Project and or DoeNetwork it would be much appreciated. I can't bring the pics over.

Also, Salem will be carrying over the pertinent posts from the Submitted possible match thread which belong here in the MP thread, so they are not lost in the possible match thread.

(so the posts may appear out of order as they move over by date posted. Hopefully Salem can fix that so the opening post appears in the correct place. )

thank you Salem for your assistance!
 
TechWriter797 said:
MorningStar -- What is Shirley's maiden name?
Click to expand...

Her maiden name is Frew and I'm totally confused. Maybe I'm just tired. I'll look at this again tomorrow.

Thanks for everything you guys.

Penelope
 
K... I sent an email to be verified, but didn't know what "case" meant. Did you want my mother's name or a number?

7394 is the case number I was given when I set her up on NamUs.

Thanks... Penny
 
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