Identified! CA - Lake Co, Wht/Hisp Female, 33-35, #UP58032, 18 Sept 1979 Wanda Lee Brewer

[Gardener1850]

Unidentified Person / NamUs #UP58032
Sex: Female
Race / Ethnicity: White / Caucasian, Hispanic / Latino

Estimated Age Group Adult - Pre 40
Estimated Age Range (Years)33-35
Estimated Year of Death 1976-1979

Circumstances
Type: Unidentified Deceased
Date Found: September 18, 1979
NamUs Case Created: June 13, 2019
ME/C QA Reviewed--
Location Found Map
General Location -- California
Lake County
GPS Coordinates--
Circumstances of Recovery
Hunter found skeletal remains Between mile marker .80 and mile marker .83

Condition of Remains
Not recognizable - Partial skeletal parts only

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

 

[YaYa_521]

With only "partial" skeletal remains how'd they narrow down the age range to a 3-year span of 33-35 yo?

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

MP11585
Margarita MacNeill
Female, Hispanic / Latino
Date of Last Contact - February 7, 1976
Missing From - Salinas, California
Missing Age - 27 Years

Margarita MacNeill – The Charley Project

CA - Margarita MacNeill 27 missing from Salinas, CA 1976

According to her profiles and Margarita's 1976 NamUs case report has an ex-husband who was a suspect then cleared and a migrant farm worker associate with ties to Mexico. He's still a POI in her case.

Maps

There is about a 5-hr drive between the two locations. If the POI isn't responsible for her disappearance perhaps a stranger abduction would explain the northward direction to the site of the UID's disposal.

Finally, Margarita was only 27yo. Not quite in the 33-35 range given for this UID.

 

[MadMcGoo]

Refreshing the thread...

 

[Melt71]

Some other options. So little detail in the UID case.
I'm not sure if any are already excluded.

Elaine Faye Lehtinen (31yo) went missing from 78 mi away in Napa on 15 June 1976. Quite extensive detail - compared to most cases of that time. Post #5 on her WS thread has a long extract of her former Namus entry which is no longer visible to the public, where one investigator (not LE) thought she was buried within 50mi of where she went missing. Namus case has not been reviewed/updated since 2018. www.websleuths.com/forums/threads/ca-elaine-lehtinen-31-napa-14-june-1976.271324/#post-14210195

www.websleuths.com/forums/threads/ca-tiffany-felky-doyle-26-santa-cruz-8-nov-1974.372709/
Tiffany Felky Doyle / Tiffany Doyle missing from Santa Cruz (190mi away) 11 August 1974 and may have been hitchhiking (destination unknown). Younger than age estimate, at 26yo when missing. Original MP report was purged and she was re-reported 40 years later, so if her remains were found during that period, without ID, likely would not have been identified.

Mary Inez Hoy – The Charley Project
Mary Inez Hoy
Mary Inez Hoy, hispanic, 32yo and missing since 1/1/1974 though the distance is much greater than those listed above, approx 500 miles. No WS thread that I could find.

www.websleuths.com/forums/threads/ca-denise-kathleen-anderson-22-sacramento-13-april-1971.326794/#post-13124320
Outside the estimated year of death and age estimate, but Denise Kathleen Anderson (22yo) went missing 13 April 1971 from nearby Sacramento, which is about 75mi away from where the UID was found.​

 

[MadMcGoo]

Some other options. So little detail in the UID case.
I'm not sure if any are already excluded.

Elaine Faye Lehtinen (31yo) went missing from 78 mi away in Napa on 15 June 1976. Quite extensive detail - compared to most cases of that time. Post #5 on her WS thread has a long extract of her former Namus entry which is no longer visible to the public, where one investigator (not LE) thought she was buried within 50mi of where she went missing. Namus case has not been reviewed/updated since 2018. www.websleuths.com/forums/threads/ca-elaine-lehtinen-31-napa-14-june-1976.271324/#post-14210195

www.websleuths.com/forums/threads/ca-tiffany-felky-doyle-26-santa-cruz-8-nov-1974.372709/
Tiffany Felky Doyle / Tiffany Doyle missing from Santa Cruz (190mi away) 11 August 1974 and may have been hitchhiking (destination unknown). Younger than age estimate, at 26yo when missing. Original MP report was purged and she was re-reported 40 years later, so if her remains were found during that period, without ID, likely would not have been identified.

Mary Inez Hoy – The Charley Project
Mary Inez Hoy
Mary Inez Hoy, hispanic, 32yo and missing since 1/1/1974 though the distance is much greater than those listed above, approx 500 miles. No WS thread that I could find.

www.websleuths.com/forums/threads/ca-denise-kathleen-anderson-22-sacramento-13-april-1971.326794/#post-13124320
Outside the estimated year of death and age estimate, but Denise Kathleen Anderson (22yo) went missing 13 April 1971 from nearby Sacramento, which is about 75mi away from where the UID was found.​

With so little information, they all appear to be possible. I think Elaine is an interesting one though. She seems to fit the UID, and her reportedly buried within close proximity to this...it sure would be nice to have even a poorly done sketch in these instances.

 

[YaYa_521]

Some other options. So little detail in the UID case.
I'm not sure if any are already excluded.

Elaine Faye Lehtinen (31yo) went missing from 78 mi away in Napa on 15 June 1976. Quite extensive detail - compared to most cases of that time. Post #5 on her WS thread has a long extract of her former Namus entry which is no longer visible to the public, where one investigator (not LE) thought she was buried within 50mi of where she went missing. Namus case has not been reviewed/updated since 2018. www.websleuths.com/forums/threads/ca-elaine-lehtinen-31-napa-14-june-1976.271324/#post-14210195

www.websleuths.com/forums/threads/ca-tiffany-felky-doyle-26-santa-cruz-8-nov-1974.372709/
Tiffany Felky Doyle / Tiffany Doyle missing from Santa Cruz (190mi away) 11 August 1974 and may have been hitchhiking (destination unknown). Younger than age estimate, at 26yo when missing. Original MP report was purged and she was re-reported 40 years later, so if her remains were found during that period, without ID, likely would not have been identified.

Mary Inez Hoy – The Charley Project
Mary Inez Hoy
Mary Inez Hoy, hispanic, 32yo and missing since 1/1/1974 though the distance is much greater than those listed above, approx 500 miles. No WS thread that I could find.

www.websleuths.com/forums/threads/ca-denise-kathleen-anderson-22-sacramento-13-april-1971.326794/#post-13124320
Outside the estimated year of death and age estimate, but Denise Kathleen Anderson (22yo) went missing 13 April 1971 from nearby Sacramento, which is about 75mi away from where the UID was found.​

I think JD could very well be Elaine. Have you submitted her as a PM?

 

[heartanium]

1 Exclusion

 

[heartanium]

Doe Network - 1586UFCA

Dentals state full and upper dentures.

 

[heartanium]

Essie Margarette Hiett (MP19279) disappeared from Oroville, CA a year prior. She's stated to have full dentures. She stood at 5'5" and went missing at 47, so a bit older then our UP, but still worth a mention.

Not sure exactly where this body was found, but Lake Country its about a 2 hour drive/100 miles east of Oroville.

 

[heartanium]

Can't find much else, will have to look when I get home.

19 September 1979, The Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, CA), pg 3

 

[theshadow45]

Following.

 

[DS2021]

Dentals state full and upper dentures.

That's pretty young for full dentures isnt it? Or was that more common in the 70s?

NamUs now states she may also be Asian.

Age range is now 35-45

 

[othram]

SOLVED: After 44 years, Lake County Jane Doe (1979) is Identified

 

[HmmMysterious]

SOLVED: After 44 years, Lake County Jane Doe (1979) is Identified

Identified as Wanda Lee Brewer, an Arkansas native who later moved to California. RIP Wanda. How old was she when she was last seen?

 

[carbuff]

another article

Lake County homicide victim found by hunters ID’d after 44 years

Human remains were discovered on Highway 175 along the border of Lake and Mendocino counties. They were positively identified last month.

www.pressdemocrat.com