TX TX - Houston, Wht/HispFem 16-35, 32UFTX, w/dead man in closed business, scars, "V" tatt, Aug'85

[carbuff]

The bad news is Carls picture won't be put on NamUs per ME even though it is very fine. The good news is she posted the post mortem picture and DNA is complete.

https://identifyus.org/en/cases/2632

They've also added a photo of her jewelry.

The arrowhead necklace reminded me of Tammy Sue Rothganger, who was wearing an arrowhead necklace on a chain when she went missing since May 16, 1984 from Eldon, Missouri. She was 15 when she disappeared, which would make her 16, which is in range. And she has a tattoo'd letter on her left arm, though hers is said to be an R not a V.

But she doesn't have the gap in her teeth and there a number of other non-matching features, so I don't think it can be her. She's the only one I could find wearing a necklace like that.

http://doenetwork.org/cases/1381dfmo.html

 

[Houston Mom]

The arrowhead necklace is unique, one of a kind?

 

[carbuff]

The arrowhead necklace is unique, one of a kind?

Pretty unusual, anyway. They don't have a photo of Tammy's.

Looking at it closely, I think it could be handmade. It has the irregular marks of a jewelry class project.

 

[Tssiemer]

They've also added a photo of her jewelry.

The arrowhead necklace reminded me of Tammy Sue Rothganger, who was wearing an arrowhead necklace on a chain when she went missing since May 16, 1984 from Eldon, Missouri. She was 15 when she disappeared, which would make her 16, which is in range. And she has a tattoo'd letter on her left arm, though hers is said to be an R not a V.

But she doesn't have the gap in her teeth and there a number of other non-matching features, so I don't think it can be her. She's the only one I could find wearing a necklace like that.

http://doenetwork.org/cases/1381dfmo.html

Creepy. She looks like my sister A LOT.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Tulessa]

The more I look at this young lady's jewelry, the more I think that she was more like Native American than Latina. However, that may not mean anything. She could have been Latina but liked Native style jewelry.

Could she have been an illegal immigrant? That might explain why no one appears to be searching for her. If she really was as young as 16 (I personally think she looks like she's in her early 20s, but that's just my opinion), perhaps she was a runaway from Mexico or some other Latin American whose parents never thought of looking for her in the United States.

Bobby, I am Cherokee, and she has the CLASSIC , NA features. Even down to the high cheek bones.

 

[Xina_Marie]

for what it is worth, I looked through some records at ancestry.com and there is a TX death record for Thomas Rodriguez for 12 Aug 1985, Harris County. No other information such as SS# or DOB. I looked at females who died on the same date in Harris County and in addition to the women who were named, there was an entry "individual". I guess that is our Jane Doe.

I tried to get an age for Thomas but there was no corresponding record in the Social Security Death Index either as Thomas or Tomas. so I cannot get a date of birth for him.

I can only surmise that he had identification on him and that's why they had a name. you would think that LE would have knocked on a few doors to ask about any lady friends.

perhaps if any of our sleuthers lives in Houston and has access to old microfilms at a public library, I would be interested to read what the news accounts were back in Aug 1985.

The Houston Public Library has online access to the Houston Chronicle from 1985 to the present, but you have to enter the bar code on your library card to gain access. You can do it from any computer --- you don't have to be in the library. I would love to poke around and read stories about this case, but I am not a card holder for HPL.

 

[carbuff]

Looking for young NA women who went missing in about that time frame, the only one who seems possible is Sharon Baldeagle:

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/167dfsd.html

She and a friend were kidnapped by Russell Long near Casper, Wyoming in September 1984, almost a year before this UID died. According to Doenet:

Long was arrested a week later in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He plead guilty to kidnapping the girls for the purpose of committing indecent liberties with a minor and one count of aggravated assault. He died in prison in November 1993. Long maintained he drove BaldEagle to Cheyenne and found her another ride to Texas. He denied knowing BaldEagle's whereabouts.

Not that I believe a word Long says...but it's interesting that she was heading to Texas.

No mention of gall bladder surgery, though.

 

[CarlK90245]

Here's my facial reconstruction for this Jane Doe:

:bump: for image revision.

 

[jjohnston0827]

I completely agree about the Native American ancestry. I am only 1/8th but my eyes and facial construction are very similar to Jane's. Almond shaped, hooded eyes, high cheekbones and what I would call "full" eyebrows. I also had a gap in my teeth as a child/teenager, which was fixed with orthodontics, but I don't know if this is a common attribute among Native Americans.

All that being said, I went to elementary school with a girl in North Texas who could be this girl's twin, but she was Mexican, so oftentimes people with Mexican, Native American, or South American heritage tend to favor a lot. So could she be a mix? In my experience, most Native American's have rather sharp, angular, almost beaked noses, while those of Mexican or South American descent tend to be more flat and rounded. The UID's nose looks more round, but it's hard to tell without a profile shot. Has anyone seen a profile shot of this Jane Doe?

In summary, with some strong Native American features and other more Mexican or South American features, I feel she could be mixed. This would make it more likely that her family is actually from South Texas, where there are both Mexican/South American and Native populations, instead of being from Mexico or South America.

Does this rant make sense at all?

 

[Roselvr]

http://www.harriscountytx.gov/ifs/UnidentifiedDecedentFliers.aspx

Photo of girl and jewelry on the Harris County Forensic Center Website

The flier (attached) says Hispanic or Native American

 

[cvaldez1975]

i think she looks NA and her jewelery indicates it too.
was the "closed business", closed for the evening, or "out of business", as in abandoned?

if it was just closed, this would indicate they were burglarizing it, or worked there, or meeting someone who worked there.

if it was abandoned, they could have been squatting there, or meeting someone for drugs, or even she may have been a prostitute and tomas rodriguez was a john and therefore, he really DIDNT know her.

 

[CarlK90245]

I just got ahold of some photos of O'Dina Lucero, LKA in New Mexico in 1979. When I saw this one, I almost fell out of my chair.

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/15070/5

There is a 6 year time difference between Date LKA and Date of Discovery. By then she would have been 25 years old (i.e., too old for the Jane Doe's age range). But nevertheless, I would want to see a comparison.

 

[jjohnston0827]

I just got ahold of some photos of O'Dina Lucero, LKA in New Mexico in 1979. When I saw this one, I almost fell out of my chair.

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/15070/5

There is a 6 year time difference between Date LKA and Date of Discovery. By then she would have been 25 years old (i.e., too old for the Jane Doe's age range). But nevertheless, I would want to see a comparison.

It says Lucero's front tooth was capped, but that isn't mentioned in the UID, unless it is one of the ones listed as missing.

Definitely an eerie resemblance... and what are the chances she'd still be wearing that shirt?

 

[CarlK90245]

It says Lucero's front tooth was capped, but that isn't mentioned in the UID, unless it is one of the ones listed as missing.

Definitely an eerie resemblance... and what are the chances she'd still be wearing that shirt?

Probably not the same shirt. But she obviously had similar tastes in clothing and jewelry.

The Jane Doe's #6 is described as "mildly displaced laterally". The #6 is the upper right canine. It doesn't say which of O'Dina's canines were capped, but until I saw the dental records, I would not take it as gospel truth.

 

[cvaldez1975]

holy crap in the same shirt?
chances are she wouldnt be wearing it so long later but who knows?

I just got ahold of some photos of O'Dina Lucero, LKA in New Mexico in 1979. When I saw this one, I almost fell out of my chair.

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/15070/5

There is a 6 year time difference between Date LKA and Date of Discovery. By then she would have been 25 years old (i.e., too old for the Jane Doe's age range). But nevertheless, I would want to see a comparison.

 

[CarlK90245]

BTW, the description says "red and white striped tank top", so I made the recon drawing with no idea of how wide the stripes were. I would sure like to see an actual photo of the tank top.

 

[jjohnston0827]

That would definitely help... I'm trying to zoom in on the pendant she is wearing in the photo without much luck. I don't think it is the one she is wearing, but what is she holding in her left hand? It COULD be the pendant, but that would be way too much of a coincidence, surely.

CarlK, what do you think about the height/weight difference. She definitely could've put on the 30-40 pounds in the 5 1/2 years since she went missing, but she is listed as 5'4" and the UID between 5'0" and 5'2". Is it enough of a discrepancy?

 

[CarlK90245]

That would definitely help... I'm trying to zoom in on the pendant she is wearing in the photo without much luck. I don't think it is the one she is wearing, but what is she holding in her left hand? It COULD be the pendant, but that would be way too much of a coincidence, surely.

CarlK, what do you think about the height/weight difference. She definitely could've put on the 30-40 pounds in the 5 1/2 years since she went missing, but she is listed as 5'4" and the UID between 5'0" and 5'2". Is it enough of a discrepancy?

Height and weight differences between verified MP to UP matches are very common. For example, Tammy Jo Alexander's sister insists that she was 5 feet 5 to 5 feet 6 inches tall. Her NamUs MP casefile indicated only 5 feet 0 inches tall. "Cali" was described as being only 5 feet 3 inches tall. I have no idea who was right.

 

[Roselvr]

Height and weight differences between verified MP to UP matches are very common. For example, Tammy Jo Alexander's sister insists that she was 5 feet 5 to 5 feet 6 inches tall. Her NamUs MP casefile indicated only 5 feet 0 inches tall. "Cali" was described as being only 5 feet 3 inches tall. I have no idea who was right.

Glad you're submitting to be on the safe side. Surely got an eerie feeling when I saw the side by side. I know you didn't see JD's actual shirt but it's so close it gave me goosebumps! We need to see the pic of her actual shirt if Dr D has one!

As for height & weight; I can think of a case last year that was way off!

 

[carbuff]

That would definitely help... I'm trying to zoom in on the pendant she is wearing in the photo without much luck. I don't think it is the one she is wearing, but what is she holding in her left hand? It COULD be the pendant, but that would be way too much of a coincidence, surely.

CarlK, what do you think about the height/weight difference. She definitely could've put on the 30-40 pounds in the 5 1/2 years since she went missing, but she is listed as 5'4" and the UID between 5'0" and 5'2". Is it enough of a discrepancy?

The longer pendant around her neck doesn't match, but the shorter one might.