IL IL - Thebes, Roanoke Rd, Asian/Pacific IslanderFem 18-40, UP100341, Nightgown, July 6, 1989

[victoriarobinson642]

NAMUS:

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

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

www.namus.gov

---
Sex - Female
Race / Ethnicity - Asian, Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
Height - 4' 10"-5' 2"(58-62 inches), Estimated
Weight - 80-100 lbs, Estimated
Hair Color - Black
Type - Unidentified Deceased
Date Body Found - July 6, 1989
Thebes, Illinois 62990
County - Alexander County
Circumstances of Recovery - Victim was found in the Mississippi River about 3 miles south of Thebes, Illinois. A commercial fisherman was out to set nets when he observed an unusual object in the water near a dike in about 3 feet of water. The object was found to be a 100-pound rice bag with the victim inside. This bag was tied with rope to a second rice bag that held cement blocks and bricks. The terrain on land in this location was not suitable for people or vehicles. The body was recovered by boat and taken to a nearby boat launch.
Clothing - nightgown, white panties with green trim and green dots
On the Body
Jewelry - diamond stud earring in pierced ear
On the Body

---

 

[victoriarobinson642]

The Times from Streator, Illinois on July 7, 1989 · 2

Get this The Times page for free from Friday, July 7, 1989 7, 1989 "1 In Illinois Body pulled from Mississippi near Thebes CAIRO. 111. (UPI) Officials pulled an unidentified body from the Mississippi River Thursday about three miles south of Thebes, the Alexander County Sheriff's Department...

www.newspapers.com

Streator. II.. Friday, July 7, 1989 "1 In Illinois Body pulled from Mississippi near Thebes CAIRO. 111. (UPI) Officials pulled an unidentified body from the Mississippi River Thursday about three miles south of Thebes, the Alexander County Sheriff's Department said. Investigators suspect foul play, said Deputy Bill McHughs, but he would not elaborate. He would not say whether the body was that of a man. woman or child

 

[bombardier]

How many people have a 100lbs rice bag lying around the house... I think that would significantly narrow down suspects. Kitchen employee?

 

[Caring1]

I was just reading about the rice fields there in Southern Illinois near the Mississippi River. My guess is she may have been employed at some level there at the rice fields or at least her family member/s may have been.

My first thought went straight to the 100 lb. rice bags as well.

 

[Goecke]

There's pictures of the rice bags on her NamUs page. I can't completely tell what the brand is but I can make out "S___ Star". It was also distributed by Busch Agricultural Resources. It seems like they're a big grain processing company with many locations, but I can't tell if there are/were any locations near where the victim was found. Today it looks like they process grain for use in beer and other alcohol, I can't tell if they're actually processing rice/other grains to be sold at grocery stores or the like or if they just work with alcohol companies. I guess at some point they were producing 100 pound bags of rice, though.

ETA: Getting a better look at the pictures, I'm 99% sure the brand name is 'Southern Star'. There does still seem to be a brand of rice with this name, but the logo is different and from what I can tell it's produced/sold in India and isn't available in the US with the exception of import sites. I have no idea if this is the same brand or something entirely different using the same name.

 

[PatLaurel]

I can't completely tell what the brand is but I can make out "S___ Star".

It reads "Southern Star".

ETA:SOUTHERN STAR Trademark - Serial Number 73465849 :: Justia Trademarks

 

[random_rando]

There's pictures of the rice bags on her NamUs page. I can't completely tell what the brand is but I can make out "S___ Star". It was also distributed by Busch Agricultural Resources. It seems like they're a big grain processing company with many locations, but I can't tell if there are/were any locations near where the victim was found. Today it looks like they process grain for use in beer and other alcohol, I can't tell if they're actually processing rice/other grains to be sold at grocery stores or the like or if they just work with alcohol companies. I guess at some point they were producing 100 pound bags of rice, though.

ETA: Getting a better look at the pictures, I'm 99% sure the brand name is 'Southern Star'. There does still seem to be a brand of rice with this name, but the logo is different and from what I can tell it's produced/sold in India and isn't available in the US with the exception of import sites. I have no idea if this is the same brand or something entirely different using the same name.

Busch Agricultural Services is a division of Anheuser-Busch: (From Page 8)
"The products manufactured by the Company require a large volume of various agricultural products, including hops, barley malt, rice, and corn grits for beer, and rice and barley for the rice milling and malting operations of Busch Agricultural Resources, Inc. The Company fulfills its commodities requirements through purchases from various sources, including purchases from its subsidiaries, through contractual arrangements and on the open market."

A/B Brewery is located at 721 Pestalozzi in St. Louis, near the Mississippi River, and has its own railway line between the river port and the brewery. Grain shipments arrive via barge near Upper Mississippi mile 177. https://arcg.is/GquHf0

While the brewery has bulk grain storage facilities, I do recall seeing bagged rice during a tour but whether or not the Southern Star bags were used at the actual brewery is probably irrelevant. I believe it's very likely shipments of both bagged and bulk rice were handled by the same barge operator and crews would have spent time in St. Louis, whether briefly or as residents employed on the river.

Now, our victim is described as possibly of Asian descent and St. Louis was one of the few resettlement locations for Vietnamese refugees. They arrived in three separate "waves" between 1975 and 1997 and each group had its own distinct characteristics from predecessors. These refugees were settled in the South Grand area, which from the A/B port, is about two miles due west on Arsenal Street. There were immigrants/refugees from other Asian countries but not anywhere close to the size of the VN community at that time.

This is an absolutely excellent overview of the experiences, struggles, and relationships of these new citizens:
(1997) ASIAN BUSINESS OWNERS from South Grand Boulevard's International District St. Louis, Missouri a needs assessment preliminary report

It would not be surprising that a missing child either not be reported or reported and not thoroughly investigated/documented due to the factors outlined in the report above (too many to summarize here!). She could be from anywhere along the river but I'm unaware of Asian communities near Cairo in the late 80s, outside of StL.

 

[Goecke]

It reads "Southern Star".

ETA:SOUTHERN STAR Trademark - Serial Number 73465849 :: Justia Trademarks

The trademark was abandoned in 1985... So I assume that the brand was no longer selling rice (at least under that name/logo) when our Jane Doe was found in 1989? There's no PMI on the NamUs page, but since she was decomposed but not fully skeletal (decomposition happens a lot faster in water) I doubt she was dead for 4+ years. So someone had old, empty rice bags laying around?
I assume either her or her killer worked in an industry related to the rice bags somehow, either some kind of processing plant or a restaurant. But restaurants use up their ingredients fast, especially staple foods like rice, so I can't imagine why a restaurant would have bags of rice (empty or otherwise) from years ago.

 

[random_rando]

The trademark was abandoned in 1985... So I assume that the brand was no longer selling rice (at least under that name/logo) when our Jane Doe was found in 1989? There's no PMI on the NamUs page, but since she was decomposed but not fully skeletal (decomposition happens a lot faster in water) I doubt she was dead for 4+ years. So someone had old, empty rice bags laying around?
I assume either her or her killer worked in an industry related to the rice bags somehow, either some kind of processing plant or a restaurant. But restaurants use up their ingredients fast, especially staple foods like rice, so I can't imagine why a restaurant would have bags of rice (empty or otherwise) from years ago.

They had several different names during a short period of time so leftover bags that were printed may have ended up being repurposed, rather than destroyed, once the brand was abandoned. Maybe sold off at a surplus store or similar?

Here are more trademarks filed by BuschARI for rice during the 80s: BUSCH AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES, INC. Trademarks :: Justia Trademarks

 

[DS2021]

These are the only two possible matches I'm seeing between 1988-1989
Choung is likely too tall.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

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

www.namus.gov

Anna Jovita Mallari – The Charley Project

 

[random_rando]

The river was at historic low water levels in both 1988 and 1989 and traffic would have been severely limited. The current at this location would imo not have been sufficient to move her from upstream and it wasn't accessible by vehicle and foot according to LE. That's why I came to the conclusion upthread that her killer may have been employed on the river.

This article shows the conditions at -3.09 feet in 2022. It was at -3.20 feet in 1988 and -5.32 in 1989, the 5th lowest in recorded history: Low water level records

Thebes is in an extremely rural part of Southern Illinois, with the nearest town of any size being Cape Girardeau, Missouri. St. Louis is the nearest actual metropolitan area, to the north and with population spread across both sides of the river and Memphis is to the south. It is also just northwest of Cairo and the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers.

Rice farming was not present in Illinois until a decade after she was found. However, there are rice farms in nearby Southeastern Missouri and production had greatly increased in the mid-1980s there.

 

[azure]

Thebes is in an extremely rural part of Southern Illinois, with the nearest town of any size being Cape Girardeau, Missouri. St. Louis is the nearest actual metropolitan area, to the north and with population spread across both sides of the river and Memphis is to the south. It is also just northwest of the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers.

Thebes is also adjacent to Cairo, IL, which is one of the most blighted towns in the country. A once-great river town, it was by the 80s almost completely abandoned. I just walked down to the river in Thebes the other month when fog reduced visibility to about ten feet. It was haunting.

I agree that this woman was likely not local.

 

[random_rando]

Thebes is also adjacent to Cairo, IL, which is one of the most blighted towns in the country. A once-great river town, it was by the 80s almost completely abandoned. I just walked down to the river in Thebes the other month when fog reduced visibility to about ten feet. It was haunting.

I agree that this woman was likely not local.

Yes! I'd just edited to include a mention of Cairo before I saw your reply. It's such an important part of the history of the area and for understanding how unlikely it is that she was local and gone missing unnoticed/unreported, even as a migrant worker. I'm rooting for Cairo to make a comeback as an art & music destination.

 

[AguaFlorida2001]

How many people have a 100lbs rice bag lying around the house... I think that would significantly narrow down suspects. Kitchen employee?

Asian household, possibly? Rice is used in almost all traditional meals. Just a thought. Maybe even an Asian restaurant owner?

 

[bombardier]

Asian household, possibly? Rice is used in almost all traditional meals. Just a thought. Maybe even an Asian restaurant owner?

I am also (part) Asian and rice is a staple, but we usually have ~10 or ~20lbs bags of rice at home, because that's whats sold in stores. I'm guessing that not only is it hard to move 100lbs of rice, but it's also hard to come by! Looking it up online (theyre surprisingly cheap btw, maybe I gotta invest...), they are sold by food supplier or wholesale companies (like sysco).
Looking at the photos included on NamUs, it looks like they used two of those 100lbs bags to dispose of Jane Doe. To have two of these bags available, I'm guessing... rice plant worker, wholesale company worker, or large-scale food service employee.

 

[IrisCarr]

It reads "Southern Star".

ETA:SOUTHERN STAR Trademark - Serial Number 73465849 :: Justia Trademarks

I looked at Justia, and I'm confused about the trademark usage. It says first use 1983, then abandoned 1984. That is a small time for the use of this trademark.

Cairo, also produces rice: Testimonials | Cairo, IL, under River Bend Rice.

Could a manufacturer in the area have been thinking of partnering with Busch to produce local rice using that packaging and trademark, but the deal fell through? Just seems odd that the trademark seemed abandoned so quickly, well according to Justia. Could the bags have been part of a promotional package? IF, I'm reading it correctly.

I don't know if the manufacturing company in Cairo now is the same as in 1989, or if there are any others that produced rice or grains in 1989 near there.

Also, there are two large universities near Thebes, and hospitals that could have purchased rice in bulk for use in their kitchens, not just restaurants. Could the woman have been a student? Age is very vague in NAMUS.

These are just things I noticed when reading over all of this. I am not blaming anyone or any entity. All of this just my opinion.

 

[azure]

I looked at Justia, and I'm confused about the trademark usage. It says first use 1983, then abandoned 1984. That is a small time for the use of this trademark.

Cairo, also produces rice: Testimonials | Cairo, IL, under River Bend Rice.

Could a manufacturer in the area have been thinking of partnering with Busch to produce local rice using that packaging and trademark, but the deal fell through? Just seems odd that the trademark seemed abandoned so quickly, well according to Justia. Could the bags have been part of a promotional package? IF, I'm reading it correctly.

I don't know if the manufacturing company in Cairo now is the same as in 1989, or if there are any others that produced rice or grains in 1989 near there.

Also, there are two large universities near Thebes, and hospitals that could have purchased rice in bulk for use in their kitchens, not just restaurants. Could the woman have been a student? Age is very vague in NAMUS.

These are just things I noticed when reading over all of this. I am not blaming anyone or any entity. All of this just my opinion.

I just don't think that it would be likely to expect food service staff to handle 100-lb bags of rice. I'm a horse trainer and our feed bags are 50lbs and can be challenging to pour into various receptacles. If these are 100 lb bags, I think they must be for industrial use.

 

[IrisCarr]

Good point. I hadn't thought of how the bags might be handled. Industrial like what? Just curious.

 

[IrisCarr]

Good point. I hadn't thought of how the bags might be handled. Industrial like what? Just curious.

 

[citizen_sleuth]

"Body found in river found to be Oriental murder victim," Paducah Sun, 9 July 1989, A6.

The bound body that washed onto a rock dike in the Mississippi River near here Thursday was that of an oriental woman, said Alexander County Coroner Dave Barkett.

[...]

Barkett said a preliminary autopsy performed at Herrin Hospital Friday indicated that the woman was between 20 and 40 years-old.

[...]

"We don't know exactly how long she was in the water," he said, "but we estimate about two or three weeks, possibly more."

Authorities removed the body from the river about 3:50 p.m. Thursday after a commercial fisherman spotted the bag on a rock dike.

A four-foot rope sealing the bag was tied to another bag containing concrete blocks.

Sheriff officials said no missing people have been reported missing in the area and suspect the body may have floated down the Mississippi River.