Maricopa Jane Doe 1999 Thread #2

believe09 said:

Here is what I sent him via email:

"Dear Sir,

I am a xxxxxxxxxx with a non profit organization that assists police
in identifying UID's and works on missing persons cases. If you are the
well respected Mr. David Leibowitz previously with the Arizona Republic,
I would be incredibly appreciative if you could verify something that
appeared in a story you wrote about a lovely Jane Doe who was pushed or
jumped from a car in Pinal County AZ in 1999.

Recent analysis has changed the estimated age of this child from 13-19 to under 16. At the minimum she was a teen living an extremely high risk life style and at the maximum this cost her everything. I want to include the text of the article in the email, simply because there are two things missing from the Medex website: her clothing and a picture of the ring she wore around her neck. If there is a chance that you kept any of your notes from the article, could you send me any information regarding what she was wearing or if the ring information was verified? There seems to be a scramble going on at Susie Dodt's office to try and find a picture of the ring.

This little girl has never been identified and there is no satisfactory
end to her story in terms of justice either. The on line community has
taken her to their hearts and there is new energy surrounding the need to identify her-I am certain that we can do this with your help.

if you have any questions or would like to verify the authenticity of
this request, please call me at any time or reply by return email.

If there is a chance that I have reached another Mr. Leibowitz instead, my heart-felt apologies!

Sincerely,


Believe09


Here is the article: (I attached a copy)"

I will keep you all posted!!

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We have no way of knowing what kind of a life style she lived. She could have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. The people in the car gave THEIR story of what happened. WE have no way of knowing if it was the truth or not. IMO IF she was a regular in the area somebody would have recognized her and came forward but nobody ever admitted to seeing her before.

Teresa Larson said:

Leibowitz is a VERY common name. Finding him will probably be like finding a needle in a hay stack lol I still think the reporter made a mistake. She had a belly button ring not a ring on her finger. I know first hand how badly reporters can screw up information. Four of them could do one story and you'd get 4 different stories.

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believe09 said:

Actually, there is a pretty good trail of this guy because he is very well known. He appears to still be a VP at Moses Anshell; previously he had his own talk show, has written articles free lance that were nominated for a number of awards, and as I stated attended President Clinton's impeachment hearings in 2000.

The ring he refers to was not being worn but was on a chain around her neck, so let's hope there is still some record of it...

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VASHLEY88 said:

Yes, let's not give up hope here. With all due respect, we aren't in any kind of position to doubt anything, because the facts on this case are very, very limited. So, anyone who may have any information is WORTH CONTACTING. Even if he isn't the right reporter, what's the worst that will happen? We can at least cancel him out, right?

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believe09 said:

Yup-keep the faith. I am hoping to know by early next week...

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Fairy1 said:

I sure hope so too everyone! The ring would be helpful, but I think LDJ's input would be invaluable. I truly hope she's the right one and she will be willing to help us.

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VASHLEY88 said:

I hope so, but nobody can "force" anything out of her. If she chooses to help, that would be great! But I don't want to rely on that. I can't say I blame her for not wanting to say anything. But at the same time, nobody else, besides the driver and potential witnesses can really adhere to our questions about her identity.

I am praying that the ring did exist and it wasn't just a mix-up.

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fmw63 said:

Boy, I thought I was finished work today... Ok. here's the info from the Jan. 30, 1999 article. Two things are listed differently than other sources - height (5'7") and location found (mile marker 193).


Height - 5'7"
Weight - 130 lbs.
Eyes - blue/grey
Hair - sandy blonde
Lips - thick, bowed
Eyebrows - thin, plucked
Estimated age - 17
Items - gold necklace with gold ring on it with letters "DMA"

Car - blue Cadillac
Speed - approx 75mph
Location - southbound I-10, near Sun Lakes, AZ

Persons in car:
Alonzo DeCarlo Fernandez, age 26
Lindsay DeJong
Charges - (Fernandez) - failure to render aid

Destination - Miami, FL
Origin - Ajax Mini-Mart (liquor store) 23rd st & Van Buren, an area frequented by prostitutes & drug dealers

Fernandez says she just jumped into the car. He said he was going to Miami. So did she. They picked up Lindsay DeJong. He said all three got in the front seat. (So they must have been out of the car at some point). They left. After (they were) smoking marijuana, her behavior changed, lots of talking, then suddenly she opened the door. He didn't stop because he was afraid, and saw people stopping to help her.

Okay, that should get around the copyright stuff...

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phenolred said:

I found 2 seperate newspaper articles from the Casa Grande Dispatch newspaper the first article dated jan 27 1999 the day after the accident.

these answer some questions we have had and they bring up others....

Here is a breakdown of the 2

first 1-27-1999


She was flown to Scottsdale Osborn Hospital with head and other injuries another passenger in the car 18 yr old Lindsey Dejong from Spokane Washington siad they did not know her name.

Next dated 1-28-1999

The 17 yr old girl who fell out of a moving vehicle on I-10 died from massive head trauma.

She fell at mile marker 173 on i-10

The driver Alonzo DeCarlo Fernandez age 26 and Lindsey Dejong 18 were Stopped at mile marker 199 He said she was hitchhiker when he and Dejong passed thru Phoenix he said she accidently fell. Initial reports suggested she was pushed. They did not give an explanation why they didnt stop after she fell. He was arrested for failure to render aid.


So I wonder how they KNew she was 17 but they didnt know her name. I think maybe the key is talking to Lindsey again maybe this has weighed on her and maybe she might talk now and maybe she was scared of this Man and just went along with him and his story....

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fmw63 said:

Not sharing? That's not fair.

"Remember the copyright laws when posting news stories!" is right on the forums front page. The AZ Central newsbank website has a rather lengthy copyright warning message. Another poster asked (directed at the moderators) if I could post the article - no reply. So I paraphrased the whole article.

Anyway, for those who want it:

Arizona Republic
January 30, 1999
Section: Valley And State
Edition: Final Chaser
Page: B1

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