FL FL - Southport, WhtFem 150UFFL, 21-35, in Warren Bayou, poss. Czech, May'96

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The Doe Network:
Case File 150UFFL
150UFFL
NamUs UP Case 1111 The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

150UFFL.jpg

Reconstruction of Victim

Unidentified White Female

Located on May 30, 1996 in Southport, Bay County, Florida.
Cause of death was homicide.
Estimated date of death was April 20, 1996.

Vital Statistics

Estimated age: 25 - 40
Approximate Height and Weight: 5'6" - 5'9"
Distinguishing Characteristics: Small build. Shoulder-length wavy light brown hair with blonde highlights; 12 inches long. She suffered some injuries, fractured ribs, a leg and knee injury and a broken nose, more than a year before she died. These injuries may have been from an auto accident.
Dentals: She had some dental work performed. There was nothing unique about the dental work that would point authorities to a specific region. She had all of her front teeth, but was missing a right lower tooth and her upper wisdom teeth. She also may have been missing two molars.
Clothing: A blue or bluish-green pullover sweatshirt with a Laguna logo on the front and an L.A. Gear red and white striped sports bra. She was also wearing a 7-inch, gold-plated bracelet on her left wrist. The bracelet, which was about 2½ inches in diameter, indicates that the woman probably had a small build.
Other: Some speculation has been made to whether this victim is an immigrant from Czechoslovakia.

Case History

The woman, known only as Jane Doe 96, was found murdered in the tall reeds of the backwaters of Warren Bayou on May 30, 1996 at 11:00. She was raped and killed on a dirt road near the Steam Plant canal six weeks before her discovery. Her remains were so deteriorated that it made identification impossible, but there were 2 complete fingerprints and a partial one that were able to be obtained.

She was last seen alive leaving Tan Fannie's, a topless bar, on Beck Avenue the night of April 20, 1996 with a man who was convicted of her murder, Billy Frank Hansen. Investigators have reason to believe that the woman tried to contact a friend at an apartment on Beck Avenue the night she allegedly was killed, but that person has not been located or identified as of this date.

Hansen said he and a friend were out drinking at Tan Fannie's topless bar on Beck Avenue when they met the victim. Hansen said he and his friend arrived at the bar around 22.00 and left around 3:30. He said that the woman asked for a ride home, but was so drunk that she didn't notice when they bypassed it. Hansen's friend was driving and Hansen sat in back. The woman sat in front, Hansen said. His friend said that the woman told Hansen that she would have sex with him, but then she demanded money.

Hansen is serving 21.8 years of prison time for the second-degree murder of this woman.

<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 January 12, 2024>
 
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This is probably not a match, but she looks so much like the reconstruction that I figured that I would put it up.

She was just added today to NamUs:

Leah Denise Calabrese
1705120263801.jpeg
150UFFL.jpg
1705120228986.jpeg

I am a bit doubtful because there is a 3 1/2 year lag, and there's no mentioned connection to Czechoslovakia. I wonder why they think she was from Czechoslovakia. Perhaps she spoke with an accent?

But her height is right, she has a small build, and there is a Florida connection.
 
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Bumpity-bump...

I think this is worth checking out....maybe at least we can find out more about this possible Czech angle if it's not Calabrese.
 
Bump

Has her case been mentioned on European Union television? I think that it would be a great help in these cases of unidentified possible immigrant decedants (like Bay County Jane Doe and 1976's Beth Doe in Pennsylvania) if there faces were publicized in there possible home countries. Someone here might not recognize but it's possible someone back home will. And it's made easier by the fact that these women came from countries that are most likely part of the European Union today. If there cases could be publicized on the European Broadcasting Union it's possible someone might recognize them.
 
Hello,

I have a question for native speakers of English: do you think you could tell the difference between a "Czechoslovak" accent and, for example, a Polish or Hungarian accent?

This detail seems oddly specific to me, so I get the impression that this Jane Doe must have told someone (her killers?) that she was from Czechoslovakia.

I looked on the Czech missing persons database without actually expecting to come across someone resembling her. Still, to my surprise, I've found this woman, Darja Pěnčíková, who I feel bears several similarities to the Bay County Jane Doe.

The Missing Persons Database is in Czech only; here is a link to the translated page: Pátrání po osobách - Policie České republiky

And here's a link to the original version. I'm putting it here because it shows a larger photo of Darja. Pátrání po osobách - Policie České republiky

If these links are not allowed, I apologize, and please delete them.

She was reported missing to the Czech police in 2000. Unfortunately, the Czech police database does not give the date of last contact or the circumstances of disappearance. If she had gone to the US and was not in regular contact with her family, I think she could have been reported missing four years after her disappearance.

Darja would have been 29 years old in the spring of 1996, within the age range of a Bay County Jane Doe. Her height is given as between 165 - 170 cm, which is roughly 5′ 5″- 5′ 7″, also matching.

What's most striking to me, though, is the similarity of Darja's face to the reconstruction of Bay County Jane Doe's face; it looks to me like they have a very similar shape of lower jaw, mouth, and nose. Darja's hair looks like it was brown dyed blonde, compared to brown with blonde highlights.

I haven't found any mention of Darja other than in the missing person's database. If she emigrated to the US, I assume it probably happened after 1989, when the borders were opened for travel after the fall of communism. However, there is also a tiny chance that Darja may have been able to cross the border illegally earlier and make it to the US before 1989.

Unfortunately, I do not know how to search US immigration records and residency applications, whether these are publicly available from the 1990s, and I don't know where to look to see if Darja ever lived in the US.

Does anyone have any ideas?
 
Hello,

I have a question for native speakers of English: do you think you could tell the difference between a "Czechoslovak" accent and, for example, a Polish or Hungarian accent?

This detail seems oddly specific to me, so I get the impression that this Jane Doe must have told someone (her killers?) that she was from Czechoslovakia.

I looked on the Czech missing persons database without actually expecting to come across someone resembling her. Still, to my surprise, I've found this woman, Darja Pěnčíková, who I feel bears several similarities to the Bay County Jane Doe.

The Missing Persons Database is in Czech only; here is a link to the translated page: Pátrání po osobách - Policie České republiky

And here's a link to the original version. I'm putting it here because it shows a larger photo of Darja. Pátrání po osobách - Policie České republiky

If these links are not allowed, I apologize, and please delete them.

She was reported missing to the Czech police in 2000. Unfortunately, the Czech police database does not give the date of last contact or the circumstances of disappearance. If she had gone to the US and was not in regular contact with her family, I think she could have been reported missing four years after her disappearance.

Darja would have been 29 years old in the spring of 1996, within the age range of a Bay County Jane Doe. Her height is given as between 165 - 170 cm, which is roughly 5′ 5″- 5′ 7″, also matching.

What's most striking to me, though, is the similarity of Darja's face to the reconstruction of Bay County Jane Doe's face; it looks to me like they have a very similar shape of lower jaw, mouth, and nose. Darja's hair looks like it was brown dyed blonde, compared to brown with blonde highlights.

I haven't found any mention of Darja other than in the missing person's database. If she emigrated to the US, I assume it probably happened after 1989, when the borders were opened for travel after the fall of communism. However, there is also a tiny chance that Darja may have been able to cross the border illegally earlier and make it to the US before 1989.

Unfortunately, I do not know how to search US immigration records and residency applications, whether these are publicly available from the 1990s, and I don't know where to look to see if Darja ever lived in the US.

Does anyone have any ideas?
Here’s her picture for comparison (enhanced version). Original photo below the comparison.

1675085571943.jpeg1675085604431.jpeg
1675085651651.jpeg
 
Here’s her picture for comparison (enhanced version). Original photo below the comparison.

View attachment 398715View attachment 398716
View attachment 398717
I see what you mean about the jaw and mouth.

I wouldn't read too much into the hair on the recon, it was probably the closest colour wig they had handy. And the brown hair with highlights could have been a bleach job that had grown out most of the way, rather than a deliberate highlight job. Or, it could have been done on purpose - hair doesn't take long to change, and as you say, we don't have a last known contact for her. Darja looks like a natural brunette.
 
Hello,

I have a question for native speakers of English: do you think you could tell the difference between a "Czechoslovak" accent and, for example, a Polish or Hungarian accent?

This detail seems oddly specific to me, so I get the impression that this Jane Doe must have told someone (her killers?) that she was from Czechoslovakia.

I looked on the Czech missing persons database without actually expecting to come across someone resembling her. Still, to my surprise, I've found this woman, Darja Pěnčíková, who I feel bears several similarities to the Bay County Jane Doe.

The Missing Persons Database is in Czech only; here is a link to the translated page: Pátrání po osobách - Policie České republiky

And here's a link to the original version. I'm putting it here because it shows a larger photo of Darja. Pátrání po osobách - Policie České republiky

If these links are not allowed, I apologize, and please delete them.

She was reported missing to the Czech police in 2000. Unfortunately, the Czech police database does not give the date of last contact or the circumstances of disappearance. If she had gone to the US and was not in regular contact with her family, I think she could have been reported missing four years after her disappearance.

Darja would have been 29 years old in the spring of 1996, within the age range of a Bay County Jane Doe. Her height is given as between 165 - 170 cm, which is roughly 5′ 5″- 5′ 7″, also matching.

What's most striking to me, though, is the similarity of Darja's face to the reconstruction of Bay County Jane Doe's face; it looks to me like they have a very similar shape of lower jaw, mouth, and nose. Darja's hair looks like it was brown dyed blonde, compared to brown with blonde highlights.

I haven't found any mention of Darja other than in the missing person's database. If she emigrated to the US, I assume it probably happened after 1989, when the borders were opened for travel after the fall of communism. However, there is also a tiny chance that Darja may have been able to cross the border illegally earlier and make it to the US before 1989.

Unfortunately, I do not know how to search US immigration records and residency applications, whether these are publicly available from the 1990s, and I don't know where to look to see if Darja ever lived in the US.

Does anyone have any ideas?
My aunt (86) and my uncle (80) are both nearly 100% Czech. We've all done our DNA. (Their brother was my father, whom I never knew. Hooray for DNA!). So, I say that because as a person who is nearly 50% Czech, I can tell my uncle's accent is very Slovak. But, I don't know if I could discern any other accent tho. I have to listen carefully to him when he speaks.

Now my aunt, her husband was an Air Force pilot, so they've lived all over the globe. Her speech is not near as ethnic, if that is the correct word.

My great grandparents immigrated in 1905 and were placed into the Slovak community, churches, schools, etc. near Pittsburgh PA. Slovaks married Slovaks according to my aunt. It is possible this UID is not actually an immigrant. She could be a 1st, 2nd or 3rd generation US citizen. Based on the age estimate, she could have been born in the 50s or 60s. I was born in 1962 and I'm only the 3rd generation to be born here.

If they're doing DNA on her, I've uploaded my results to many platforms including GEDmatch and DNASolves (Othram). I've actually tested at 23andMe and at Ancestry. Hopefully, she gets her name back soon!

1675091727747.png
 
My aunt (86) and my uncle (80) are both nearly 100% Czech. We've all done our DNA. (Their brother was my father, whom I never knew. Hooray for DNA!). So, I say that because as a person who is nearly 50% Czech, I can tell my uncle's accent is very Slovak. But, I don't know if I could discern any other accent tho. I have to listen carefully to him when he speaks.

Now my aunt, her husband was an Air Force pilot, so they've lived all over the globe. Her speech is not near as ethnic, if that is the correct word.

My great grandparents immigrated in 1905 and were placed into the Slovak community, churches, schools, etc. near Pittsburgh PA. Slovaks married Slovaks according to my aunt. It is possible this UID is not actually an immigrant. She could be a 1st, 2nd or 3rd generation US citizen. Based on the age estimate, she could have been born in the 50s or 60s. I was born in 1962 and I'm only the 3rd generation to be born here.

If they're doing DNA on her, I've uploaded my results to many platforms including GEDmatch and DNASolves (Othram). I've actually tested at 23andMe and at Ancestry. Hopefully, she gets her name back soon!

View attachment 398745
Another Czech "Czeching" in. I have my DNA in GEDmatch as well. My family came to the US from (what was) Yugoslavia in the mid 1930's and settled with other Serbocroatian/ czech immigrants in the St Louis area. My grandparents would agree with you; Slovaks married Slovaks.
 

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