PA PA - Avalon, BlkFem 50-90, 678UFPA, 'USA for Africa' TShirt, mattress cover/pillow, blanket, Jun'97

I found a recent article on this case and could not find a thread. Given the circumstances this could have been a homeless lady but thought I would start a thread to see if anyone could find a link for this elderly lady. Perhaps the way this lady was found carefully wrapped might suggest she had a home but was just left in the open...

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/678ufpa.html

The Doe Network:
Case File 678UFPA

Unidentified Black Female

The victim was discovered on June 19, 1997 in Avalon, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Estimated Date of Death: 3-12 months prior
Mummified Remains

Vital Statistics

Estimated age: 80 years old
Approximate Height and Weight: 5'0"; 99 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: Short, curly gray/white hair.
Clothing: She was dressed in beige slacks; a light green adult diaper; a long-sleeved, yellow sweat shirt and two pair of socks - one pink and one green. The sweatshirt had the letters "USA FOR AFRICA" in big, blue, block letters. Also on the shirt was red script lettering which read "United Support of Artists for Africa". A musical note was on the "A" in USA and a leaf or tree was on the last "A" in Africa.

Case History
The victim was located over a hillside behind the Ponderosa Restaurant, at 920 Ohio River Boulevard (Route 65), in Avalon, PA.
The woman's body was wrapped in two plastic bags, believed to be mattress covers, and was inside a sleeping bag.
There were no signs of obvious trauma to the body and cause of death was determined to be from natural causes.


A link to a recent article - http://sewickley.patch.com/articles/unsolved-cases-avalon-jane-doe-2ed73753

Unsolved Cases: Avalon Jane Doe

The elderly woman found over a hillside in Avalon was never identified.

By Larissa Dudkiewicz
Email the author
June 17, 2012

The woman survived about eight decades on this earth, but her death gave no dignity to those years.

On June 19, 1997, the mummified body of a petite black woman with short, curly, gray-and-white hair—only 5 feet tall and weighing only 100 pounds—was found over a hillside behind the Ponderosa Restaurant at 920 Ohio River Boulevard (Route 65) in Avalon.

The woman, who was found inside a blue sleeping bag, was wrapped in two black plastic trash bags—one tied over her head, one tied over her feet—then wrapped again in what authorities believe was a plastic mattress cover, according to the Pennsylvania Missing Persons website.

....

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This is so sad. This poor lady died of natural causes and someone just dumped her over a bank? How do people sleep at night knowing they did this to another human being. Hope they never get old.

This is her NamUs page. It has a much wider range for her age, 50 to 90.

https://identifyus.org/en/cases/8691

I wonder if the person/persons who dumped her body thought that they would be implicated in her death (they did not realize that she died from natural causes)? Or maybe they are still cashing her social security or something of that nature and pretending that she is still alive?

http://pennsylvaniamissing.com/avalonjanedoe.html

http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2012/06/19/medical-examiner-seeks-id-in-15-year-old-cold-case/

Medical Examiner Seeks ID In 15-Year-Old Cold Case


AVALON (KDKA) — In June of 1997, the body of a petite, black woman in her 80′s was found thrown over a hillside along Ohio River Boulevard and her body was mummified.
That case remains open

This case in VA is similar. A 78 year old woman died of natural causes while visiting a friend in VA. They couldn't afford to bury her and didn't know of any other family so they wrapped her up and left her near the hospital with a note.

Maybe this UID had a caretaker who couldn't afford to or didn't want to deal with trying to have her legally buried?

mamashawn said:

This case in VA is similar. A 78 year old woman died of natural causes while visiting a friend in VA. They couldn't afford to bury her and didn't know of any other family so they wrapped her up and left her near the hospital with a note.

Maybe this UID had a caretaker who couldn't afford to or didn't want to deal with trying to have her legally buried?

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So sad! How hard is it to call an authority, PD, Sheriff, coroner? Geez.

Ambercat said:

I wonder if the person/persons who dumped her body thought that they would be implicated in her death (they did not realize that she died from natural causes)? Or maybe they are still cashing her social security or something of that nature and pretending that she is still alive?

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I think you might be right about the social security check. If whoever dumped this woman's body was afraid of contact with LE, an anonymous phone call would have sufficed to notify LE of her death.

But if that person saw an opportunity to collect the woman's social security or other benefits, dumping the body makes a sick kind of sense.

Marilynilpa said:

I think you might be right about the social security check. If whoever dumped this woman's body was afraid of contact with LE, an anonymous phone call would have sufficed to notify LE of her death.

But if that person saw an opportunity to collect the woman's social security or other benefits, dumping the body makes a sick kind of sense.

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I wonder if whoever dumped her drove across state lines (from Ohio or West Virginia) so that she wouldn't be identified as easily/quickly?

Ambercat said:

I wonder if whoever dumped her drove across state lines (from Ohio or West Virginia) so that she wouldn't be identified as easily/quickly?

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That's possible, as both states are a short drive from Avalon, PA (a suburb of Pittsburgh).

Avalon has a lot of transients, there is the Avalon Motel which caters to the transient and homeless. It's possible that this woman could have been dumped by someone just passing through who didn't want to be "bothered" with the proper burial of this woman, or who was mentally incapable of dealing with this woman's death.

I still think it's possible this woman was dumped so someone could continue receiving her benefits.

Marilynilpa said:

That's possible, as both states are a short drive from Avalon, PA (a suburb of Pittsburgh).

Avalon has a lot of transients, there is the Avalon Motel which caters to the transient and homeless. It's possible that this woman could have been dumped by someone just passing through who didn't want to be "bothered" with the proper burial of this woman, or who was mentally incapable of dealing with this woman's death.

I still think it's possible this woman was dumped so someone could continue receiving her benefits.

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I think so, too; I think it's possible someone might have crossed state lines to try to keep anyone from finding out as quickly. Then if someone asks about her, they make some excuse why she is not around or say she doesn't feel well and doesn't want to see anyone.

Marilynilpa said:

I still think it's possible this woman was dumped so someone could continue receiving her benefits.

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That's a very good point. You're probably right.

There are no ruleouts in NamUs. I agree with the social security benefits motive... Sad they didn't just let her have a proper burial

The t-shirt mentioned with this UID dates to 1985 I think (you can see Diana Ross wearing one in the We Are The World music video). The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)


Unidentified Person / NamUs #UP8691 Female, Black / African American
Status Unidentified
Date Body Found June 19, 1997
Location Found Avalon, Pennsylvania
Estimated Age Range 50-90 Years
Case Information

Case Numbers
NCMEC Number --
ME/C Case Number 97-2017
Demographics
Sex Female
Race / Ethnicity Black / African American
Estimated Age GroupAdult - Pre 90
Estimated Age Range (Years)50-90
Estimated Year of Death1997
Estimated PMI6 Weeks
Height 5' 0"(60 inches) , Measured
Weight100 lbs, Estimated
Circumstances
TypeUnidentified Deceased
Date Body Found June 19, 1997
NamUs Case Created April 23, 2011
ME/C QA ReviewedApril 24, 2011
Location Found
Location Avalon, Pennsylvania 15202
CountyAllegheny County
GPS Coordinates (Not Mapped)--
Found On Tribal Land--
Circumstances of Recovery The decedent was lying on the hillside 22 feet south of the guard rail on the parking lot of the Ponderosa Resturaunt on Ohio River Blvd in Avalon, PA. The decedent was in a blue sleeping bag with two black garbage bags, one tied over her head, and one tied over her feet. After opening the sleeping bag, investigators found that the decdent was wrapped in a plastic mattress cover and her head was laying on a pillow with a towel covering her face and a green blanket covering her body.
Details of Recovery


Inventory of Remains All parts recovered
Condition of Remains Not recognizable - Mummified
Physical Description
Hair Color Gray or Partially Gray
Head Hair Description Short, curly gray and white
Body Hair Description --
Facial Hair Description --
Left Eye Color Unknown
Right Eye Color Unknown
Eye Description --
Distinctive Physical Features
No Known Information


Clothing and Accessories
Item
Description
Accessories
matrress bags and pillow
Near the Body

Clothing
A yellow-orange shirt with the following lettering : "USA for Africa, United Support for artist for Africa", one white-yellowish discolored bra, beige pants, two pair of socks (one white, one pink) and a diaper.
On the Body

Jewelry
None present
On the Body

Additional Case Info

Images & Documents
No Images or Documents
Exclusions

Contacts
Investigating Agencies

Major Crimes

Address Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15212
County --
Main Phone --
General Email --
Website URL --

Agency Case Number--
Date Reported--
James McGee, Detective


Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office

Address 1520 Penn Avenue Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
County Allegheny County
Main Phone (412) 350-4800
General Email --
Website URL Medical Examiner | Allegheny County

From NamUs - printed 6/2/2012

Skeletal findings: No evidence of prior fractures or trauma
Fingerprint information is currently not available
Dental information/charting is currently not available
DNA sample is currently not available

And from an earlier posted link:

Allegheny County Medical Examiner Dr. Karl Williams says someone may not have cared enough to pay burial costs.

“You hate to bury somebody without anybody knowing who it was,” he said.

Her body was eventually cremated.
Medical Examiner Seeks ID In 15-Year-Old Cold Case

I went to Namus to look for ruleouts but there are none in this case and I guess no focus on identifying her if she was cremated.

Melt71 said:

I went to Namus to look for ruleouts but there are none in this case and I guess no focus on identifying her if she was cremated.

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No fingerprints, dentals or DNA. If only they hadn't cremated her. With today's advances in genetic genealogy, there would at least be a chance of identifying her.

Melt71 said:

I went to Namus to look for ruleouts but there are none in this case and I guess no focus on identifying her if she was cremated.

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This case is completely unsolvable as of right now correct? Unless someone comes forward who was involved in the disposal of her body

DS2021 said:

This case is completely unsolvable as of right now correct? Unless someone comes forward who was involved in the disposal of her body

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I guess, unless the ME's office kept samples.