NY NY - Sara Lepkofker, 56, New York City, 8 May 1997

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PonderingThings

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http://charleyproject.org/cases/l/lepkofker_sara.html

lepkofker_sara.jpg

Sara in 1997

Sara Lepkofker

Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance

# Missing Since: May 8, 1997 from New York City, New York
# Classification: Missing
# Age: 56 years old
# Height and Weight: 5'4, 170 pounds
# Distinguishing Characteristics: Blonde hair, brown eyes. Lepkofker dyes her hair. She wears eyeglasses.

Details of Disappearance

Lepkofker was last seen in the area of 5th Street in the New York City borough of Brooklyn on May 8, 1997. She has never been heard from again. The circumstances surrounding Lepkofker's case are unclear.
 
http://www.9news.com/acm_news.aspx?OSGNAME=KUSA&IKOBJECTID=c9c4f6e5-0abe-421a-011f-9afe2d4ff978&TEMPLATEID=0c76dce6-ac1f-02d8-0047-c589c01ca7bf

Woman presumed dead may have turned up in Colorado

DENVER (AP) - Relatives of a New York woman reported missing and presumed dead are anxious to find out if she's the same person who turned up at a Denver radio station, and may still be in the area.

Sara Lepkofker disappeared after leaving her New York apartment in 1997. Police investigated the case, but never found any solid clues regarding her whereabouts.

Family members believed she'd become a victim of foul play, or suicide. Now, they're not so sure.

A woman identifying herself as "Sara" and originally from New York walked into the studios of Clear Channel Colorado in November, wanting to speak with a talk-show host.

Security guard Ron Smith later searched the Internet, and found a photo of a missing woman named Sara Lepkofker -- who resembled the station's visitor.

Lepkofker would now be 65 years old, but her whereabouts are unknown. She's described as five-foot-four, 150 to 170 pounds, with brown eyes and dyed blonde hair.

The N-Y-P-D says a comparison of photographs and surveillance video indicates the visitor may very well have been Lepkofker.

Police are asking anyone who may have seen her, or knows where she is, to contact authorities.
 
> 6/18/97: Sara Lepkofker
>
> On June 18, 1997, four young children discovered a partially
> decomposed body at an abandoned Sewage Pump house located at 105 Locust
> Avenue in Red Bank. After a post-mortem examination, it was determined
> that the death was a Homicide and that the victim had been decapitated,
> right and left legs had been amputated as had the tips of the fingers
> on both hands. As a result of the condition of the body, no
> identification could be made.
>
> In January 2008, a detective from the New York Police Department's
> Missing Persons Unit advised that the National Center for Missing and
> Exploited Children's laboratory had identified the victim as Sara
> Lepkofker, with last known address of 2780 West 5th Street, Unit 16-F,
> Brooklyn, New York.
> According to the New York Police Department, Sara Lepkofker was last
> seen alive on May 8, 1997, leaving her place of employment. She was
> scheduled to go on a two week vacation with her live in boyfriend, John
> Luttrell.
>
> Anyone with information related to the disappearance or murder of
> Sara Lepkofker is urged to contact the Monmouth County Prosecutor's
> Office Major Crimes Unit at 732/ 431-7012 or 1 800/ 533-7443 (toll free)
> or the Red Bank Police Department at 732/ 530-2700.

http://prosecutor.co.monmouth.nj.us/unsolved/1990-unsolved.html

scroll down the above link to see the information regarding Sara Lepkofker
 
jd77 said:
> 6/18/97: Sara Lepkofker
>
> On June 18, 1997, four young children discovered a partially
> decomposed body at an abandoned Sewage Pump house located at 105 Locust
> Avenue in Red Bank. After a post-mortem examination, it was determined
> that the death was a Homicide and that the victim had been decapitated,
> right and left legs had been amputated as had the tips of the fingers
> on both hands. As a result of the condition of the body, no
> identification could be made.
>
> In January 2008, a detective from the New York Police Department's
> Missing Persons Unit advised that the National Center for Missing and
> Exploited Children's laboratory had identified the victim as Sara
> Lepkofker, with last known address of 2780 West 5th Street, Unit 16-F,
> Brooklyn, New York.
> According to the New York Police Department, Sara Lepkofker was last
> seen alive on May 8, 1997, leaving her place of employment. She was
> scheduled to go on a two week vacation with her live in boyfriend, John
> Luttrell.
>
> Anyone with information related to the disappearance or murder of
> Sara Lepkofker is urged to contact the Monmouth County Prosecutor's
> Office Major Crimes Unit at 732/ 431-7012 or 1 800/ 533-7443 (toll free)
> or the Red Bank Police Department at 732/ 530-2700.
Click to expand...

the National Center for Missing and
> Exploited Children's laboratory had identified the victim as Sara
> Lepkofker.........LINK PLEASE!
Is there a link, to an article from Jan 08 discussing the remains from 1997 being id as sara?

in post 2 the link does not work, but they seem to be 50 50 it could have been her...
But the remains were find a little more then a month after she went missing, so it could-not had been her in Denver in 2005? correct?
And the charlie project was last updated in 2006...so she was id 2 years later, and they have not updated the information about her being found and id in 08?

Since 08 what is the status of this investigation, i am confused?

and in 08, without a head and without fingertips how did they id the remains as sara?
 
sorry about not posting the links correctly, i was at work and kind of in a rush when i made the post. as far as the validity of the id, it was done in a lab so i would be 99% sure it was through DNA or dental records. i doubt the office of the monmouth county prosecutor would post it on their site as being her if they were only 50% sure, and again, it was done in the national center for missing and exploited childrens lab, so i doubt its an "investigation error". and if you check in the doe networks identified section, there is a listing for her, it just doesnt say what her name is for some reason, it only says the body was identified, just look for the listing that says red bank, nj, it's on the first page almost halfway down.

Identified
The victim was located on June 18, 1997 in Red Bank, Monmouth County, New Jersey. She was identified in 2009.

http://www.doenetwork.org/
 
But if she was identified last year, then why is she STILL listed as missing on DN? Normally, if the listed MP matches a UID case on DN, then they remove both at the same time.

That's what I don't understand...
 
if the doe network still has her as an active missing case, then it's just an error on their part because as i said, they also have her listed in the identified section, and her case is listed on the monmouth county new jersey prosecutors office website, so they probably just failed to remove the case from the missing persons section as they usually do.
 
jd77 said:
sorry about not posting the links correctly, i was at work and kind of in a rush when i made the post. as far as the validity of the id, it was done in a lab so i would be 99% sure it was through DNA or dental records. i doubt the office of the monmouth county prosecutor would post it on their site as being her if they were only 50% sure, and again, it was done in the national center for missing and exploited childrens lab, so i doubt its an "investigation error". and if you check in the doe networks identified section, there is a listing for her, it just doesnt say what her name is for some reason, it only says the body was identified, just look for the listing that says red bank, nj, it's on the first page almost halfway down.

Identified
The victim was located on June 18, 1997 in Red Bank, Monmouth County, New Jersey. She was identified in 2009.

http://www.doenetwork.org/
Click to expand...
strange case.
6/18/97: Sara Lepkofker

On June 18, 1997, four young children discovered a partially decomposed body at an abandoned Sewage Pump house located at 105 Locust Avenue in Red Bank. After a post-mortem examination, it was determined that the death was a Homicide and that the victim had been decapitated, right and left legs had been amputated as had the tips of the fingers on both hands. As a result of the condition of the body, no identification could be made.
In January 2008, a detective from the New York Police Department's Missing Persons Unit advised that the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's laboratory had identified the victim as Sara Lepkofker, with last known address of 2780 West 5th Street, Unit 16-F, Brooklyn, New York. According to the New York Police Department, Sara Lepkofker was last seen alive on May 8, 1997, leaving her place of employment. She was scheduled to go on a two week vacation with her live in boyfriend, John Luttrell.


last seen leaving from work, and when she is seen again, she is found dead cut into pieces? Theirs not much information, for public view, so i am hoping you can verify some things if possible.
A woman identifying herself as "Sara" and originally from New York walked into the studios of Clear Channel Colorado in November, wanting to speak with a talk-show host.

Security guard Ron Smith later searched the Internet, and found a photo of a missing woman named Sara Lepkofker -- who resembled the station's visitor.

Lepkofker would now be 65 years old, but her whereabouts are unknown. She's described as five-foot-four, 150 to 170 pounds, with brown eyes and dyed blonde hair.

The N-Y-P-D says a comparison of photographs and surveillance video indicates the visitor may very well have been Lepkofker.
View Larger Map">
View Larger Map

could you look at this map, and include a c showing her place of employment, or at least give a name and address so we can see where she was leaving on that last day..........thankyou
​
 
the woman in colorado wasn't her...it may have resembled her, but its apparent that she was deceased at the time. i dont have anymore info than what i've posted already. it's been verified that it was her remains via the lab at the national center for missing and exploited children, and the original posting on the doe network before she was identified stated that the remains were there at least several weeks before police were notified. in reply to outofthedark, n.y. and n.j. are right next to each other, it's only about a one hour train ride from nyc to red bank where she was found. there is a direct train from nyc to the red bank train station, and many people commute every day. that would be the most likely scenario i would think.
 
This kind of 'record' keeping is totally unacceptable. I have been working on Sara's case for a long while. I viewed the video in Colorado and it did look like her and there were other reasons it could have been her. Now it appears it was not her?

I am in Jersey just across the Hudson - about 20 minutes from Manhatton. It is nothing to go into NY two or three times a day and vice versa.
How does a woman get id'd 11 years after this kind of death. Usually these obvious homicides get priority. Something else to consider. There are far too many dismemberment homicides here NJ and NY . These folks are serious when they want fsomeone dead!I don't understand how this woman could have slipped through the cracks on this type of death. Yes, I am ranting. The missing and unidentified 'system' needs serious overhauling. I am currently looking for a missing person who was last known to be in Vermont and suicidal. Guess what? Vermont does not 'do UID's'. So lots of luck getting a Vermont UID to compare my subject. Since they don't process the UID's, what do they do - leave them in the place found?
Will try to find more info on Sarah.
BTW, I have another case where the woman is definately deceased and is listed as missing. The police don't want to take my info because the case is so old. Then they say, "Well, we don't know whose case it is" OR we don't have a report on her" (and it is listed missing). So, without the police clearing their file (if they can find it!), the woman remains a missing person. I am currently tracking down her family in another country to obtain a death certificate so the Holocaust Museum will at least clear her record.

Again, there needs to be some serious overhauling of the ';system'.
Thanks for posting this info!
 
Mensch said:
This kind of 'record' keeping is totally unacceptable. I have been working on Sara's case for a long while. I viewed the video in Colorado and it did look like her and there were other reasons it could have been her. Now it appears it was not her?

I am in Jersey just across the Hudson - about 20 minutes from Manhatton. It is nothing to go into NY two or three times a day and vice versa.
How does a woman get id'd 11 years after this kind of death. Usually these obvious homicides get priority. Something else to consider. There are far too many dismemberment homicides here NJ and NY . These folks are serious when they want fsomeone dead!I don't understand how this woman could have slipped through the cracks on this type of death. Yes, I am ranting. The missing and unidentified 'system' needs serious overhauling. I am currently looking for a missing person who was last known to be in Vermont and suicidal. Guess what? Vermont does not 'do UID's'. So lots of luck getting a Vermont UID to compare my subject. Since they don't process the UID's, what do they do - leave them in the place found?
Will try to find more info on Sarah.
BTW, I have another case where the woman is definately deceased and is listed as missing. The police don't want to take my info because the case is so old. Then they say, "Well, we don't know whose case it is" OR we don't have a report on her" (and it is listed missing). So, without the police clearing their file (if they can find it!), the woman remains a missing person. I am currently tracking down her family in another country to obtain a death certificate so the Holocaust Museum will at least clear her record.

Again, there needs to be some serious overhauling of the ';system'.
Thanks for posting this info!
Click to expand...

BBM -- I believe the information is kept by the individual jurisdictions where the remains were found. There's just not a central registry.
 
carbuff said:
BBM -- I believe the information is kept by the individual jurisdictions where the remains were found. There's just not a central registry.
Click to expand...
In these type cases, missing/UID match, there are two "case agencies". There is the agency that originally took the missing report case. Sometimes for various reasons, that agency will share jurisdiction and case responsibility. Too long to get into here. Then there is the 'recovery' agency in the event a UID is found. Again, this could be the Law Enforcement agency and/or the Medical Examiner's office for that jurisdiction where the body was located. Once the UID is identified and it is determined there was a missing person report, the agency taking the initial MP information is supposed to "clear" the case as solved and notify NCIC and then other MP data bases and notify family. That is not being done. In fact, as was my experience and still is the case more than not, the MP sites are categorized as "social sites" and can not be accessed by LE computers. This is one place to start to change the system. I do not mean to categorize forums as official MP sites, but at least get places like the Doe Network and NamUS classified so LE can and MUST access them.

When there is an old case, it just seems like no one knows anything about the initial report or whose jurisdiction it belongs in. It seems no one in government agencies know how to think or process information anymore. That is not something families of the missing need to hear:shutup:.
 
Thanks for the detail. I had wondered how that worked.

I was just addressing Vermont not having a central registry.
 
carbuff said:
Thanks for the detail. I had wondered how that worked.

I was just addressing Vermont not having a central registry.
Click to expand...
Hi carbuff,
Do you have any MP's possibly last seen or lost in Vermont? What is Le telling you? The answer I get is "We don't have any UID's! I understand they are not required by law (federally mandated) to report such but what happens to any found? I am 99.9% certain my subject is in Vermont and even have a general area, but also because that person is an adult Vermont is not interested. One LEO currently with a state that is also not required to list UID's said, if found they are turned over to the coroner who preps them for burial - period!

I don't mean to belabor the point of standardizing, but consider this: There are people of certain religions who cannot imagine being buried in a potter's field with a prayer of another religious message. (Please no hate messages. No offense intended. This is just a fa t of life and even of death. I just happen to seek out the missing of a particular religious group so they can get buried according to their religious practice. These are things few know or even care about. Some focus on children, some on those with disabilities, some focus on ethnic characteristics. We all have our field of expertise and successand each missing person is just as important as the next.

I wish I could tell you how to get around the system in Vermont Carbuff, but I don't have a clue. I guess we just do our best and keep moving forward. There are many special and dedicated people here and dedication is vital in a successful resolution to any of these cases.
 
MENSCH.........if you find out where she was working on that day she was last seen leaving from please post......thank you in advance.

and the date in the tread title is wrong, should be missing since 1997 not 1977?
 
:+:MrTT:+: said:
MENSCH.........if you find out where she was working on that day she was last seen leaving from please post......thank you in advance.

and the date in the tread title is wrong, should be missing since 1997 not 1977?
Click to expand...
The information regarding her last day seen is not clear, but most of the information suggests she did NOT go to work and that she and her BF argued and she left the apartment with all her luggage. HE (BF) is who I am interested in although police do not have much on him either.
-----------------------------
Can a moderator please change the date on this thread title? It should be " 1997"
 
the doe network has sara listed in the site updates today as located deceased. they posted it incorrectly with someone elses info, but if you look at the next entry, you'll see that they just swapped the info for the two cases, i'm sure someone will let them know shortly and they will correct it.
 
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