GA GA - Atlanta, WhtMale 1029UMGA, 50-70, w/ photo of young girl, Dec'80

[Tami Sedivy-Schroder]

The enhanced photo and case summary were sent to CNN and local news outlets in June 2007; it was briefly covered in the news here. Grayhound Buslines have been very helpful in evaluating the scant information available from the bus ticket fragments included with the wallet contents. Essentially, the bus ticket fragments are a dead end. Because this case is nearly 30 years old, we are limited to the documentation gathered by our predecessors; we have done our best to "keep up" with current technology, and the success of a DNA profile is evidence of that.

 

[christine2448]

Christine is off line tonight and asked that I post the extent of the incredible work that has been done by this office...it will knock your socks off how multi faceted a real ME is in this world...

• The age of the (or any) UID is never guestimated in Fulton County-the forensic anthro on staff has a bazillion years experience and he is extremely careful regarding age ranges.
• The photo posted online has been retouched professionally to more sharply delineate colors and features; it did not arrive that way here.
• Exposure to body decomposition fluid and weathering have so badly decomposed all the of the items with the body that there is no way to accurately date or identify the photos or their origin.
• "Northside Drive and I 75" is exactly where the body was found – likely a homeless man - on the side of the freeway inside a brush "cubbyhole".
• Fulton County has followed up on every scrap associated with these remains.
  
• The FBI has participated extensively in this case; from analyzing the papers found with the UID to following up on the Pam/Dwight connection.
• Any additional Pam/Dwight matches can be sent directly to Tami Schroder at Fulton County for analyzing.

FWIW, I have worked with Tami in the past and she is incredible. Fulton County has full fledged, state of the art everything. They have the luxury of not needing to access the GBI labs because they have all that stuff and more. Some of the smaller counties have coroners vs ME's which makes it necessary to call in the GBI on their cases that move beyond what a typical coroner's office can supply.

PM me if this didn't knock off most of your list-if this gentleman was a homeless man who died in his cubby, then I wonder if he was ever reported missing?

Peace.

Also, there was NOT a forensic drawing done of the man or girl.

 

[believe09]

I am encouraged that so many people find this case intriguing; I thought you might appreciate more information-
The decedent in this case was found December 19, 1980 "…in a wooded area at the base of a large tree" surrounded by bushes at Interstate 75 and Northside Drive in Atlanta (Fulton County), GA. The remains consisted of skeletal elements and skin portions "mainly in the left side of the head as well as the back". There was a blue shirt and blue work pants with a brown belt found with/on the body. Shirt collar size 16 1/2 and sleeve size 34-35 inches. A wallet was found with the remains that contained wet documents and photos that were left to dry at the time of autopsy and sent, when dry, to the crime lab. A lower denture was found with the body; the location of that denture is not currently known. Scalp hair was described as gray blonde. "The upper teeth have been extracted in the past and the alveolar sockets are more or less obliterated. No lower jaw is present." The decedent was described as being "dead for many months".
The Georiga Bureau of Investigation Department of Forensic Science evaluated the documents and photos found with the remains; the report was completed by Chief Document Examiner James Kelly, January 12, 1981. The photograph of the young girl had handwritten on the reverse: "Sept. _____, 4 years old". A second photograph (front obliterated) bore handwriting on the reverse: "HR Bow dyeing & finishing, 278-3448". Fragments of a handwritten letter contained the following, line by line:
4-3-___
Dear Dad
Hope yo
alright here
hope ___ it help
th of us
as usual.
Nothing new
much. Both
had ___illins
HA HA really
___ly you
let me know
plenty of this
a cat
+ ___
HA HA
Take
can get together
___ together
wonderful husband
___king after me.
call or write
g fine he's
great dog
and behave
know right
Love Pam __ Dwight

DNA was extracted from specimens sent to the FBI CODIS NMPDD; mitochondrial DNA is available for comparison. We have two potential identity comparisons in progress.

The enhanced photo and case summary were sent to CNN and local news outlets in June 2007; it was briefly covered in the news here. Grayhound Buslines have been very helpful in evaluating the scant information available from the bus ticket fragments included with the wallet contents. Essentially, the bus ticket fragments are a dead end. Because this case is nearly 30 years old, we are limited to the documentation gathered by our predecessors; we have done our best to "keep up" with current technology, and the success of a DNA profile is evidence of that.

Thank you Tami!

Maybe if we get a consensus we can approach Nancy Grace and/or CNN to run it again in their Cold Case section, and see if a forensic sketch age progressed/regressed can be done of both man and girl??

 

[tatertot]

Thanks for all the additional information! The letter writer used phrases like "wonderful husband" and I can't imagine a child using such descriptive language. I know I didn't, and I frequently wrote letters to my relatives as a kid in the days before email.

The girl's photo was taken in September, when most school photos are taken, and that makes me think it may have been a preschool photo, since most kindergartens require their pupils to be at least five and someone had written she was four on the back of her photo.

 

[anthrobones]

If the photo is from the mid to late 1970's then I would guess it is a granddaughter. The letter writer is probably her mother and the daughter of the deceased. Is there any way that we can get a scan of the back of these photos to see the writing? Is the writing not there (ie: the photos were torn?) or is it just smudged because of the body fluids from decomposition? What is the plus symbol after the word "cat" for?

 

[ASU2USC]

The girl's photo was taken in September, when most school photos are taken, and that makes me think it may have been a preschool photo, since most kindergartens require their pupils to be at least five and someone had written she was four on the back of her photo.

FWIW, I have a September birthday, and I started kindergarten in 1986 at 4 years old. One of my best friends has a December birthday, and started the same year as me. I would think that it would have been unlikely for a preschool to have those type of "portraits" taken of their students, but very likely for kindergarten.

With that in mind, and the fact that the UID was found in December 1980 and had been deceased for many months, I would hazard a guess that the photograph may have been taken in September 1978 or 1979, and thus that the girl may have been born sometime in late September through December of 1974 or 1975.

 

[raindrops300]

Dalton, GA (Whitfield Co) is located on I-75 approximately 100 miles north of where he was located. Dalton, GA has the listing (706)278-3448 currently as some sort of auto body shop. In 1980 it may have been something else.

Because BOW dyeing and finishing is likely related to textiles, it is very interesting that Dalton, GA has huge textile factories and is especially well known for carpeting.
Maybe Pam and/or Dwight lived/worked in Dalton, GA and he was on his way to visit. Or he had a lead on a job, or had been working in that industry in Dalton.

I don't really know where I am trying to go with this, except I see a possible connection with the textile industry in Dalton, GA. Is there any way to find out who (maybe a textile company) had that phone number in 1980, with the Dalton, GA (706) prefix?

Does anyone know how to search for a Pam and Dwight in Whitfield Co GA around 1979-80?

 

[tatertot]

You know, I think you're right, ASU2USC. My son did have preschool pictures taken last year but when I was in preschool in 1982 I'm pretty sure we didn't have a photography company come in.

Raindrops300, it might be worth a try to call the auto body shop and ask if they still get calls for a textile business, and if so, what do they know about the business. Maybe a long-time employee who was there in the early 1980s remembers getting a lot of calls for the bow dyeing business and who knows, maybe he even can tell you whether that business went under or is still in operation under a new name.

As for Pam & Dwight couples from '79-80, I'm not sure how you'd find old phone books, and to complicate matters the woman's name isn't always listed with her husband's.

 

[Tami Sedivy-Schroder]

1. The possible telephone number and company name were searched through several decades worth of business listings/licenses for the state of GA.
2. No, none of the case file, including photos, will be scanned for further review.
3. The plus symbol after "cat" is what was written in the letter - a plus symbol.

 

[AMP1979]

I think the plus symbol had to be how Pam shorthanded the word 'and' since that's also the symbol she used between the names Pam and Dwight.

Tami, as an Atlanta resident I just want to thank you. It's amazing you are so committed to helping these people reclaim their identities.

 

[Julespa]

I have felt before not putting this information out there but here it goes...
I work for the phone company, I actually help make the phone books. I can ask around and see if there is a way for me to retrieve archival information on phone numbers. I am just a lowly graphic designer who designs the yellow pages advertising but I will see what I can come up with. No guarantees on what info I can find but I will look really hard. Now if anyone needs a phone number from the 1930's in the Virginia area I am your woman. We found some old phone books in an old storage room. Actually phone numbers didn't exist back then, you would just call the operator and tell them who you wanted to be in touch with. It would be interesting to know in which year this transitioned to actual personal phone numbers and the operators were phased out.

 

[believe09]

I was rearranging the letter and filling in missing words-see what you-all think...

4-3-___
Dear Dad
Hope you
alright here
hope ___ it help
both of us
as usual.
Nothing new
much. Both
had ___aillins
HA HA really
_on__ly you
let me know
plenty of this
a cat
+ _a dog__
HA HA
Take
can get together
___ together
wonderful husband
_loo__king after me.
call or write
g fine he's
great dog
and behave
know (now) right
Love Pam __ Dwight

 

[Angel4Alpha]

How sad. Here are two that could fit.


http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1244dmla.html

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1344dmfl.html

The second link makes a lot of sense - James Samuel Dilorenzo missing from Palm Beach County Florida - March 1 , 1980 -and information about the UID listing says this :

Also found was a bus ticket, possibly originating in Panama City, Florida. The writing was faded and mostly illegible.

Maybe it actually said Palm Beach County, Florida? Age range is right also and James is listed as having blonde hair and the UID gray and blonde hair.


James Samuel Dilorenzo
Missing since March 31, 1980 from Palm Beach County, Florida.
Classification: Missing

Vital Statistics

• Date Of Birth: November 13, 1901
• Age at Time of Disappearance: 78 years old
• Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'9; 160 lbs.
• Distinguishing Characteristics: White male. Blonde hair; hazel eyes.

Circumstances of Disappearance
Dilorenzo was last seen on March 31, 1980 in Palm Beach County, FL.




http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1344dmfl.html


I would definately call it in if you haven't already.

 

[BethInAK]

The second link makes a lot of sense - James Samuel Dilorenzo missing from Palm Beach County Florida - March 1 , 1980 -and information about the UID listing says this :

Also found was a bus ticket, possibly originating in Panama City, Florida. The writing was faded and mostly illegible.

Maybe it actually said Palm Beach County, Florida? Age range is right also and James is listed as having blonde hair and the UID gray and blonde hair.

Good thinking!

 

[anthrobones]

Bumping up

 

[eeyorelrn]

Looking at the origional photo of the young girl (on the Doe Network page), TO ME, the picture is very reminissent of several pictures that my parents had taken of me when I was younger at Olin Mills. As a matter of fact, the pose in the picture is eeriely similar to a picture of my cousin Crystal, whom is only a year older than me ( I was born in 1976, she was born in 1975) and there are pictures of her around that age in which she is wearing a similar style of dress. Wonder if this could have been taken at one of those photography studios that they have in Sears or JC Penney (that could account for their not being a studio 'name stamp' on the corners of the picture, as Olin Mills does with their pictures).

 

[Donjeta]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

No ruleouts.

 

[roxy roller]

I am a lurker, but I became interested in this case today, so I decided to do some research. There is a textile/finishing/fabric company in Dalton, Georgia. The phone number is 278-8338. That phone number is fairly close to 278-3448 considering the 3s could have looked like 4s if the paper was decayed or wet. Also, an eight could easily look like a 3.

Now, I researched the Georgia Secretary of State website for corporation information. This entity appears to have been created in 1997. However -- that does NOT mean it did not have a different name previously. The business could have been sold OR it could have been a corporation that converted to an LLC. Businesses change owners/names, but usually keep the same number.

Also, coincidentally, when I searched for the number as it is (278-3448), I bring up a service station in Dalton, Georgia owned by a person named Pamela. Edit: upon further research, the 278-3448 appears to be the service station's fax number, so this connection probably isn't relevant.

 

[Reannan]

I can't believe I haven't stumbled on this case before. The "278 3448" phone number jumped out at me because I live in South Carolina about 2 hours away from Atlanta, and my phone number starts with 802-278-xxxx. I checked, and if I put in the 3448 part, it belongs to someone that lives fairly close to me and who is friends with one of my friends on facebook. I am going to show them this information and see if the little girl's picture looks familiar. The textile industry was the main source of employment around here back in the 70's and 80's.

 

[reasypeasy]

There was a baseball player from North Carolina called Dwight Lowry who was married to a woman called Pamela. Had a couple of daughters and a son too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwight_Lowry