OK OK - Sequoyah Co, 'Dora Doe' Wht/Ntv/AsianFem 35-50, UP5117, heart & lung removed, Oct'94

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"The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation is revisiting a 1994 homicide case in Sequoyah County.

Last month, a Sequoyah County judge granted an exhumation request for the body of an unidentified woman found along I-40 near Dora in Sequoyah County.

The woman's body had been wrapped in landscaping mesh and tied with a rope. Her head was found 15 feet away. According to court documents, the body's chest had a hole measuring about 8 inches by 5 inches and the victim's left lung and heart were missing."

More at link.

http://www.newson6.com/global/story.asp?s=11912892
 
And more from the Muskogee Daily Phoenix, May 17, 2008

http://www.muskogeephoenix.com/local/local_story_138230844.html?start:int=15


"There was no clothing found on or near her body. She had been bound around the ankles with cord threaded through a wooden ring, like a drapery ring. She had extensive, professional dental work done that included restoration, a bridge and cap work.

She was believed to have been a mix of Indian or caucasian and Asian, in her late 30s to early 50s. She probably weighed 100 to 125 pounds and was between 5 feet 1 inch and 5 feet 6 inches tall. She had very dark brown and gray hair cut so short it resembled a man's burr cut.

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said that at the time, the body may have been placed along U.S. 64D, 1 1/2 miles south of Interstate 40 on Oct. 5, 1994. A witness reported seeing an object wrapped in black plastic being dragged into the woods near where the body was found."

The witness said the man dragging the object was driving a blue 1990s Chevy Blazer with an Arkansas tag, and was slender with brown hair and a mustache.

Apparently she's known as Dora Doe after where she was found.
 
She has nuclear DNA and mitochondrial DNA profiles now.

Lots of dental work, several crowns.

A C C P P N C c c c n c p c c a
a c c c c n n n n n n c c a a a

Ruled out:
Juanita Bardin 1944 Texas
Ronda Bosquez 1959 Texas
Vivian Elliott 1943 Texas
Buffy Harris 1958 Oklahoma
Linda Joyce Hefner 1942 Oklahoma
Jeanie Lofton 1972 Texas
Fae Loo 1900 Alabama
Bobbi Parker 1940 Oklahoma
Tina Marier Reynolds 1967 Arkansas
Tracy Samuels 1968 Oklahoma
Grace Webber 1900 Oklahoma

https://identifyus.org/cases/5117
 
Updated rule outs (profile last updated July 2016):

Ina Arnall 1934 Oklahoma
Rose Baker 1940 Texas
Juanita Bardin 1944 Texas
Gloria Berreth 1956 Colorado
Ronda Bosquez 1959 Texas
Linda Davis 1946 Oklahoma
Vivian Elliott 1943 Texas
Francine Frost 1938 Oklahoma
Buffy Harris 1958 Oklahoma
Carolyn Harris 1969 Texas
Linda Joyce Hefner 1942 Oklahoma
Hiromi Kazuni 1960 Florida
Patricia Kelley Tennessee
Jeanie Lofton 1972 Texas
Fae Loo 1900 Alabama
Bobbi Parker 1940 Oklahoma
Tina Marier Reynolds 1967 Arkansas
Tracy Samuels 1968 Oklahoma
Patricia Schmidt 1964 Virginia
Grace Webber 1900 Oklahoma
Billie Willard 1941 North Carolina
Jerry Yell 1940 Oklahoma
 
Super bizarre case. I thought for sure it was going to be Buffy Harris when I did my initial search, but I see she's been excluded :/
 
We all know there are some dreadful cases out there, this one is awful. Lots of rule outs when the list was last published, but no ID yet.
 
She seems like a good candidate for forensic genealogy, I wonder if they've considered it.

Her NamUs page has been updated recently, not sure what the new info is, but it's good to know that somebody is still working on her case.
 
From an earlier link/post:

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said that at the time, the body may have been placed along U.S. 64D, 1 1/2 miles south of Interstate 40 on Oct. 5, 1994. A witness reported seeing an object wrapped in black plastic being dragged into the woods near where the body was found." The witness said the man dragging the object was driving a blue 1990s Chevy Blazer with an Arkansas tag, and was slender with brown hair and a mustache.

This seems like it’d narrow down the search a bit. But how accurate could it be. If she was left there on the 5th, that only gives a PMI of a few weeks rather than 6 months (on NamUs). Unless she had been dead, kept somewhere else, and then moved months later? This is quite bizarre.
 
177543772_3831202190262276_2723849053665345322_n.jpg

Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation - Authorized Page
23 Apr 2021
 
Does anyone know if Charles Ray Vines was ever questioned in relation to this case? He was convicted of killing two elderly women in the Fort Smith area in the 90s (Juanita Wofford in 1993, and Ruth Henderson in 1995). He was also found beating and raping a 16-year-old girl in 2000, which was what ultimately got him caught. I know this was mentioned earlier up in the thread, but Vines' second victim, Henderson, had a piece of lung tissue lodged into her left ear when her body was discovered in her home. They never were able to identify who this piece of tissue belonged to; all that's known is that it wasn't Henderson's. Given Dora Doe was missing her left lung, this could be significant.

Looking at pictures online, Vines fits the witness description of having dark brown hair and a moustache. He lived in Arkansas, though I couldn't find any information regarding his height or what vehicle he drove. I also couldn't find extensive details of the murders for which he was convicted, though it seems like he was pretty damn brutal - both victims were reportedly raped, beaten, and stabbed. Just reading the description of Dora's remains - decapitated, mutilated, her heart and a lung cleaved out - it's evident her killing was of a similar nature.

Vines died in prison in 2019. A journalist wrote letters to him about his potential involvement with Dora Doe in 2017, though apparently he never responded. I find this a bit odd, since another journalist wrote to him about the case of Melissa Witt around the same time, and he wrote back vehemently denying that he had anything to do with her murder.

JMO, allegedly, and all that of course.

Pertinent articles:
20 Years Later, River Valley Serial Killer Makes Headlines Again
Little still known about 1994 murder of unknown ‘Dora Doe’ | insideFortSmith.com
https://www.todayinfortsmith.com/po...-the-case-for-and-against-charles-ray-vines-1
 
.... I know this was mentioned earlier up in the thread, but Vines' second victim, Henderson, had a piece of lung tissue lodged into her left ear when her body was discovered in her home. They never were able to identify who this piece of tissue belonged to; all that's known is that it wasn't Henderson's. Given Dora Doe was missing her left lung, this could be significant.

@othram I know there's no shortage of interesting cases - and I'm sure you have no shortage of LE beating down your door, but this is truly intriguing!
 
@othram I know there's no shortage of interesting cases - and I'm sure you have no shortage of LE beating down your door, but this is truly intriguing!
It looks like the OSBI has this case and from my experience they've not been willing to let Othram or other outside labs help in the past. Hopefully that will change someday soon.
 
5117_17702.jpg

  • Unidentified adult female found October 23, 1994 in Sequoyah County
  • Multiple ethnicities, between 35-50 years old, estimated to have died between 1993-1994
  • Approximately 5’3 tall, weight unable to be determined, hair was greying dark color, eye color unable to be determined
  • Her remains were found approximately 30 feet from a highway, she was mostly skeletal and many remains weren’t found, no personal effects were found with her remains
NAMUS UP5117
 

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