Identified! CA - Pogonip, WhtFem remains 716UFCA, 12-18, Jan'94 - Kori Lamaster

It is so sad how a child can remain unclaimed for so many years... I did some looking and came up with nothing..but will look more later. :-(
 
But no dental records available for Melissa and the UID sounds like she had a lot of dental work. Otherwise spot on.
If they are both on CODIS would this have been checked?
 
Dentals not available might mean that the dentist lost them, or they were misfiled.

I think they are close enough as a match to turn it in! Good find!
 
I did see that as a potential match, but just assumed it's probably been ruled out b/c it's so obvious. But I guess anything is possible. It would be really sad if that has not been looked into.
 
I thought it was probably obvious to investigators, too, due to the proximity, but I figured it couldn't hurt to submit it. I emailed the Sergeant in charge, and this was his email response:

Hello Susan, we have checked the missing girls Dental and compared it
with our unidentified. They do not match. Because of the close
proximately in age, tattoo, I have asked that DOJ check the DNA from our
unidentified against the DNA from the missing girl and use that to rule
out identification. Sincerely Sgt. Burt

So it looks like they've eliminated her through dentals, but they're checking DNA just to be sure. Dang...it seemed like such a perfect match. But nothing in life is that easy, is it?

 
It's so true! But it's nice to know that it was looked into at least!
 
I received word that dentals and DNA have both been checked against the unidentified and Melissa Espinoza, and there is definitely no match. Ah, well...nothing is ever as easy as it should be, is it?
 
I was trying to find possible matches for Hot Case 1207;

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/716ufca.html

Unidentified White Female

* The victim was discovered on January 29, 1994 in Pogonip Park, Santa Cruz County, California
* Estimated Date of Death: 1-6 months
* Cause of Death: Blunt force trauma to head.

Vital Statistics

* Estimated age: 12-18 years old
* Approximate Height and Weight: 5'0"-5'5''; 110-120 lbs.
* Distinguishing Characteristics: Brown hair, cut short (approx 2"). Left ear pierced twice, right ear once. Red painted fingernails.
* Tattoos: Small tattoo, 1/4" in length, of a stylized, valentine type heart, done in outline in blue ink, on web of left hand.
* Clothing: Cotton, pullover sweater, with ribbed neck, cuffs and bottom, sized Large, 100% cotton, beige, horizontal, floral design (flowers in red and blue), Brand "LiaWear". Medium sized, black sweatpants with side pockets, "Gap Sport" brand.
* Dentals: Available. The decedent had regular dental care. The decedent's bite was nearly perfect, possibly as a result of orthodontics. The acrylic restorations reflect a high concern for appearance by her primary caretakers. Third molars were unerupted.
* Fingerprints: Available.
* DNA: Complete - mtDNA Profile available in FBI NMPDD.

Case History
The victim was found in Pogonip Park, a wooded area used by the homeless for camping. This is near UCSC. The victim may have been in Santa Barbara California area within three months prior to her death.
No clothing on body, clothing found down trail in the opposite direction from body.

Then I came across;

Case File 783DFCA
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/783dfca.html
MEspinoza2.jpg

MEspinoza.jpg

MEspinoza3.jpg


Melissa Ann Espinoza
Missing since December 2, 1993 from Rancho Cordova, Sacramento County, California.
Classification: Non Family Abduction

Vital Statistics

* Date Of Birth: September 23, 1981
* Age at Time of Disappearance: 12 years old
* Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'1; 125 lbs
* Distinguishing Characteristics: White/Hispanic female. Brown hair; brown eyes.
* Tattoos: Espinoza has a homemade tattoo of a heart encircling the letter "M" near the thumb of one of her hands.
* Clothing: She was last seen wearing a black "Chicago Bulls " jacket, black pants and black low top Nike shoes.
* Dentals: Not available
* DNA: Available in CODIS

Circumstances of Disappearance
Espinoza was last seen in her hometown of Rancho Cordova, California on December 2, 1993. She was sitting on the hood of a car at 3 a.m. in an area known for drugs and shady deals. There are suspicious circumstances surrounding her disappearance. Foul play is suspected.

Any thoughts, or other possibilities? I found the similarities to Melissa Ann Espinoza particularly chilling. Though I know a few detail are off, everything else is remarkably close.
 
Melissa's Charlie Project page offers more insight into the circumstances of her disappearance, and is suggestive, at least to me, that she may have run away.

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/e/espinoza_melissa.html

snipped;

"Melissa was last seen in her hometown Rancho Cordova, California December 1st, 1993. She had an argument with her mother at 11:00 pm and left the house angry."

"Espinoza's parents are divorced. She had lived with her father and two older siblings in Sacramento, California in 1993, but moved in with her mother and younger brother a month before her disappearance. She has a history of running away after arguments but always returned home within a short time."
 
I was wondering if the UID and Melissa might actually be connected in someway. I was thinking they may have been friends or it may even be a gang symbol or something. It just seems odd that there would be two girls around the same age with the same style tattoo and general appearance in the general proximity one going missing and the other turning up dead without there being a connection. Just a thought.
 
if she's a runaway though, it could have been a tattoo she got after she went missing, on her way to California.

good thought on the gang connection though. I hadn't considered that possibility.
 
What catches me is the short hair(2 inches in length all over).Sounds like her head was possibly shaved & was growing in.I know back in my punk days when I went through crazy hair styles I ,at one stage, shaved it all off & the extreme short length was how it looked growing back in.The hair,homemade tattoo & multiple ear piercings lead to me thinking she may have been a "squatter punk"(a homeless or runaway teen .Alot of them in California) *HOWEVER* the clothing description,if indeed that was her clothing,seems "off"(like the possible match's Bulls jacket-NOT punk) if she was into punk thatd be a "no-no"(unless something happened to "her" clothes & she was wearing 'found' or donated clothing). Being a "squatter" though might jibe with her not being reported YET having very good dental work.I knew alot of "well off"kids back in the day who ran away & were involved in squatting & whose parents never notified police or looked for them(for various reasons).She may have also cropped or shaved her head to change her appearance..........I wish all UID's could get those restruction busts or even a sketch!So hard to try to find a match or get info out there with no pics to go on!! I also wish a pic of her tattoo were available!
 
i found a few articles about bethany, tanya and jessica and their friends post on angelfire, but nothing else. I mean, nothing! Like no indication they were ever found.

i have sent poster from angelfire a message, so hopefully she will respond with more info.

the interesting thing is these girls were from santa barbara, there were indications of a fight having to do with a boyfriend. and all three girls seemed to have unstable home lives.

the timing is good, the descriptions are close...

i have been scouring missing persons sites (including tahoe le) for more info, but nothing pops up.

any recommendations?
 
This article says they have made a clay reconstruction of this Jane Doe (Pogonip Jane). I hate when an article is all about how police are releasing a photo of something (a UID, a missing person, a suspect...whatever) but doesn't include that picture. I see there is a facebook page for this Jane, but I can't go to facebook from where I am...can anyone else find a picture of this new likeness?

http://www.ksbw.com/news/22178507/detail.html

The clay reconstruction has revealed that Pogonip Janes was between the age of 15 and 18 years old when she died, and was 5 feet 4 inches tall.

The woman also had a small heart-shaped tattoo on the web of her left hand near the thumb, and in the last four months of her life probably traveled between Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz County.

"It's not meant to be a photograph likeness," said forensic anthropologist Lauren Zephrr. "What it's meant to do is generate public interest and capitalize on those features like hair and general features to hopefully remember something."

http://www.doenetwork.org/hot/hotcase1207.html
 

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