TX - Longview, WhtFem (UP 9863), 41-50, Suicide - Assumed Identity, Dec'10

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Island_Chica said:
The misspelling of the street name on the Idaho ID has always made me wonder - did she spell it incorrectly on her doctored "proof" of residence (if that's in fact what she did), or did the clerk issuing the ID simply make a typographical error? I guess it's of no consequence, but yet another curious detail to this maddening mystery.

And don't even get me started on her handwritten notes... those are driving me insane.
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We have to keep in mind that this was the 1980's! Back then there was no "proof of address" required to get a driver's license or state issued ID card or even a passport. For a driver's license, you just needed your birth certificate and to pass a written test and a driving test. (If you were a married female you might have needed a marriage license to verify the name change.) Some states also required a certificate that you passed some kind of drivers education - like 6 hours "behind the wheel". The DMV was not really concerned with your identity, but just wanted proof that you knew how to drive and would be safe on the roads. If it was just a state ID card, all you needed was a birth certificate and some money to pay for registration fee of the ID card.

It was all done right in the DMV/motor vehicle office and they handed you the license when it was over. No need to mail anything anywhere. No need to show a social security card, no need to prove address.
 
ClaireNC said:
We have to keep in mind that this was the 1980's! Back then there was no "proof of address" required to get a driver's license or even a passport. You just needed your birth certificate and to pass a written test and a driving test. Some states also required a certificate that you passed some kind of drivers education - like 6 hours "behind the wheel". The DMV was not really concerned with your identity, but just wanted proof that you knew how to drive and would be safe on the roads.
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It's not even a driver's license, though. It's just an ID card.
 
Did Mr. Vellig state Lori obtained the Boulder, NV mail/drop box when they went to Vegas to renew their vows/get remarried? If so, she must have been receiving mail she didn't want her husband to see... and, I wonder what that might have been?! It seems to suggest that she might have had contact with someone from her past (imo)
 
Are we sure there was no proof of address required in "those days"? Again, probably of no importance and won't help anyone ultimately identify her anyway, but I remember having to prove my address at the DMV in the mid-90s, not too long after 1988. I grew up in NC, so I only know what was standard there.

It's a Spanish word, so chances are good either Lori or the clerk didn't understand the gender pronouns and used the a instead of an o.
 
astridxx said:
It's not even a driver's license, though. It's just an ID card.
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Good point Astridxx. I edited my comment to include state issued ID's in with driver's licenses.

"Back in the day" the only people among those old enough to drive that did not have a driving license, was because they lost their driving privileges for some reason. Most common reason for loosing a drivers license was due to "Driving under the influence" (DUI) so they lost their drivers license for a year or two and needed some form of ID.

Does anybody know what the legal drinking age was for Idaho in 1988?
 
Hi all,

My first post too. On the issue of where Jane Doe learned to acquire a new identity, there were a number of easily available books on the topic in the mid-1980s. The two most notorious publishers of books on "underground" topics were Paladin Press (Boulder, CO), and Loompanics (Port Townsend, WA- just 88 miles from Puyallup!), though there were others. These books were commonly available in left-leaning bookstores, headshops or by mail.

I did a search of Worldcat.org (the largest union catalog of library books) for su: identification cards forgeries United States, for the dates 1985-1988. I got 9 results:
http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=su...tes&fq=yr:1985..1988+>&qt=advanced&dblist=638

1. How to get lost and start all over again/ Gary B. Clark (Loompanics, 1986)
2. Alternate identities for fun, profit & survival/ C.W.L. (Technology Gr., 1986)
3. The real world of alternate ID acquisition/ D.P. Rochelle (Paladin, 1987)
4. Document preparation or, form-filling for fun and profit/ C.W.L. (Technology Gr., 1986)
5. Vanish! : disappearing through ID acquisition/Johnny Yount (Paladin, 1986)
6. Mail order I.D. : a consumer's guide/ Michael Hoy (Loompanics, 1985)
7. How to disappear completely and never be found/ Doug Richmond (Loompanics, 1986)
8. The paper trip II/ Barry Reid (Eden Press, 1985)
9. I.D. for sale in the mail : a comprehensive guide/ Michael Hoy (Loompanics, 1987)

For the truly curious, used copies of most of these can be found for low prices online (Amazon, abebooks, etc.). One that I found at abebooks that did not show up in the Worldcat search was:

10. How to create a new identity/ Anonymous (Citadel, 1987).
 
WELCOME to WS Bookman! Very informative post! Thank you :D
 
Welcome Bookman! Glad that you decided to join us. Very informative first post!
 
Island_Chica said:
Alright, I've been following this, and a couple of things are bothering me:

1. Why is everyone assuming she received the Idaho ID in the mail? When I first got my driver's license in the early 1990s, the state of NC had those laminated cards for both IDs and licenses, and the DMV made them while you waited. Same day service. Someone from Idaho may have remembered they were mailed in that state, but if so I haven't seen that post.

2. To prove address, one typically has to bring a utility bill or similar with your name on it to the DMV. That has been standard in all the states I've lived in, from the early 1990s on. She wasn't a minor when the ID was issued. She had to have either (1) doctored a bill (which given her history is a real possibility), or (2) she had some connection to that house.

PS - from the Idaho Transportation Dept website:

What do I need to bring with me?
Proof of Idaho Residency—You must reside inside Idaho’s borders to be issued an Idaho driver’s license or ID card. Proof of residency can be shown with documents such as lease or rental agreements, utility bills, school enrollment records, etc. Your home address (where you live) cannot be your workplace, vacation residence, a part-time residence, P.O. Box, mail drop, or general delivery (that have been mailed to the applicant.) Please check with your local office to determine the acceptability of your documents.
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Yes, I agree, she had to have proof that she lived there and got mail there... another post stated they didn't think that started until 9/11. Things got really tough after 9/11, she would need more than mail. But I always had to show proof of address as you state, and also always got my ID or DL while I waited in the lobby... even prior to 9/11 you had to have mail proof usually for your address... they might not have wanted that for just an ID back then, I wonder? Since it was not a Driver's License... if someone can Google "POLK Registration or Title laws" I used to work at Florida DMV, these books were updated regularly with what was required in each state for DL /ID/ and Title Registration to your vehicles for all 50 states... it would tell us for sure what she would have needed in 1988...
 
IF our Jane Doe is Cynthia Perry, I would think it quite likely that at least once during her three years in the halfway house the topic of conversation turned to how to reinvent yourself.

Earlier in the thread I suggested Lori Lee Berens, missing from Manitoba since 1985. I have found two different profiles for her. One lists her as being 18, 6 ft. , and 225 lbs when she disappeared. The other lists her as being 20, 5'6", and 150lbs when she disappeared. Anyway, knowing that LEK had at least one bout with bulemia. Assuming that the doe network profile is correct, could there be that much of a weight difference? I think the resemblance is there.

http://doenetwork.org/cases/349dfmb.html
http://www.macp.mb.ca/results.php?id=561
http://blogs.seattletimes.com/today/files/2013/06/06a-janedoe_passportphoto-THUMB.jpg
 

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fred&edna said:
I thought she did just as you suggest (walked into the DMV and walked out with the ID). But, I have been very curious about her connection to the El Cabello street address she provided. And, as someone else mentioned, it seems quite a coincidence the property owners have ties to Washington and Idaho... but maybe that's all it is... coincidence.
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Island_Chica said:
The misspelling of the street name on the Idaho ID has always made me wonder - did she spell it incorrectly on her doctored "proof" of residence (if that's in fact what she did), or did the clerk issuing the ID simply make a typographical error? I guess it's of no consequence, but yet another curious detail to this maddening mystery.

And don't even get me started on her handwritten notes... those are driving me insane.
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There is an Idaho Motor Vehicle History and I found this on their link:
http://itd.idaho.gov/dmv/dmvhistory.htm

Major technological innovations in 1984 made it possible for each county to issue licenses instantly. Computerization and Polaroid camera equipment eliminated the typical six-week or longer wait to receive a permanent license. Until 1984, applicants who purchased driver’s licenses at county sheriffs’ offices throughout the state were given 120-day temporary permits while their photos were developed and the licenses produced at the Idaho Transportation Department headquarters in Boise. Automation also allowed Idaho to provide immediate information to law enforcement agencies nationwide.

Which means she would have walked out with the ID... I am trying to find more info on if she would have needed any proof of address... still looking..
 
kdsmith21 said:
Yes, I agree, she had to have proof that she lived there and got mail there... another post stated they didn't think that started until 9/11. Things got really tough after 9/11, she would need more than mail. (respectfully snipped)
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I lived in NJ in the 1980's and was able to get my driver's license and even a passport without any "proof" of address. Laws in Idaho were more lax than NJ. Why are you stuck on this point? There was no proof of address needed at that time.
 
Side by side pics of Freda Denman (possible biological mother of Lori Ruff); Sheri Lynn Johnson (ages 2-4); and Lori Kennedy Ruff:

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_kxBBqPyp5TUlhxV3NoSHRyQ1E/edit?usp=sharing

I think the husband killed Freda and took the two kids (Sheri Lynn and baby brother Michael). He possibly gave the brother away and maybe Sheri lived with her corrupt criminal murdering dad for 402 months before she was able to create a new identity. That would mess anyone up mentally and this could explain why Lori was so protective of her daughter.

The resemblance among these pictures is the best match. Please note the ears (which always stay the same shape throughout someone's life) - they are the same. Sheri Lynn was also very tall for a four year old and her mother Freda is listed as 5'7" - tall.

I emailed a detective from Independence, Missouri which is in Jackson county (note she scribbled "JACKSON" on the one page.

Maybe the Denmans could offer DNA to see if Lori Huff is Sheri Lynn Johnson. This all fits!
 
Bulimia would explain her messed up teeth and possible veneers (unproven at this point, but suspected based on photos), as well as significant weight changes.
 
fred&edna said:
Great first post :) Sheri Lynn Johnson has been suggested as a match to Lori... and I even RE-suggested her just a few pages back, lol! I share your opinion... the resemblance is quite remarkable!
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I think she resembles Henry Lee Harbison (the father/husband) as well. I could see her possibly having a combination of both their features.
 
I found a couple of photos but I'm on my phone and can't link them.

They can be found by googling Lori Ruff + Texas Business Women.
 
EyesOnSunday said:
I think she resembles Henry Lee Harbison (the father/husband) as well. I could see her possibly having a combination of both their features.
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I have to agree with this, too... I think it's the nose.

As much as I think Sheri Lynn Johnson looks like LEKR, I would't be surprised if we are wrong. Only because a seasoned detective once told me that match-the-facial features is VERY faulty. However, we do have some stats that could support the possibility these two are a match so I'm encouraged.
 
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