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

[pjclover]

Hi Pjclover, The obit gave a birthday and said that she lived formerly in Scottsdale. It did not say that she was born there. I think the whole Scottsdale association was made up. She moved around Texas a lot from 1988 to the time she married in 2004.

Thanks, Claire! I recalled that incorrectly, which adds to my confusion about whether I think the info in the obituary was correct or not!

Here's what I'm thinking now: there is only one solid piece of information in that obituary that gives any type of time frame pre-1988: her date of birth. The Scottsdale connection is non-committal - she lived there, at some point. No place of origin. No high school. No mention of predeceased parents. Now it seems to me like the obit was written by someone who either a) knew nothing about LR's past or b) knew not to publish what they thought was true about LR's past because it was most likely a lie. If scenario B is correct, that makes the very specific DOB stick out even more to me.

This case also has me wondering what I would do if I was in her husband's situation. We haven't found any evidence that he's actively pursuing information about his wife's true identity. He didn't go on Dr. Phil, create a website, publish information that he knows in the hopes that someone will give a tip. Maybe he knows something that he's not sharing, or - more likely- he isn't interested in knowing. I would be all over the internet wanting some sort of closure, but everyone is different. I have a feeling that the missing puzzle pieces he could provide won't be brought to light - at least for a long time.

 

[ClaireNC]

This case also has me wondering what I would do if I was in her husband's situation. We haven't found any evidence that he's actively pursuing information about his wife's true identity. (respectfully snipped)

Keep in mind that they were in the process of getting a divorce. This could explain why he isn't doing anything to find out who she really was.

Has anybody called the official in charge of this case to see if there is any additional information? Or reported any of the possible matches that we came up with? I see that they now have one rule out on her NamUs file, so somebody must be working on it.

 

[necco]

I wonder if it's possible that her suicide and the pending divorce were related to her assumed identity. Maybe someone had found her out. Maybe it was all unraveling.

 

[GDUD]

I emailed the head of the investigation person listed on NamUs to ask if there were any updates on the case and he emailed me back and said that he can't release that information.

 

[mamashawn]

I emailed the head of the investigation person listed on NamUs to ask if there were any updates on the case and he emailed me back and said that he can't release that information.

Fooey.

 

[annemc2]

I emailed the head of the investigation person listed on NamUs to ask if there were any updates on the case and he emailed me back and said that he can't release that information.

Yeah. What Mamashawn said. Thanks for doing that GDUD - you are awesome!

 

[Txstrace]

I wonder how many people in Longview even know about this identity thing? I live in a city if similar size and I can see ( since it wasn't in the news) not knowing about it. Some acquaintance of hers might have info.

I have lived in Longview since 1990. Both of my parents grew up here and left after high school only to come back in the 80's. I have never heard of this case nor has anyone I've asked about it. I read the newspaper fairly often so I do not believe it was a very big story here.

 

[pjclover]

I have lived in Longview since 1990. Both of my parents grew up here and left after high school only to come back in the 80's. I have never heard of this case nor has anyone I've asked about it. I read the newspaper fairly often so I do not believe it was a very big story here.

That sounds about right. I know that I've done a bit of research into this case, and I know that others posting here have as well, and to the best of my knowledge no one has found an article regarding this woman's identity. It seems that no one involved in this woman's life is actively seeking her true identity. She passed away a year and a half ago, but the NamUs profile seems to be the only inquiry into her death that's been made public.

 

[Irish_Eyes]

I think we could narrow the search years to 1984-1988. That will give us fewer faces to search. I have a feeling she ran away from some type of criminal past, why else would she be so insistent on changing her name at 18? Although fingerprints would give that away. Strike that thought!

Maybe she wasn't really 18 when she got the SS #. Maybe her real age was older??? Ugh...this is making me crazy!

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Just in case you are right....I found this missing person...
Karen Lee was 15 when she ran away in 1977....that would make her born around 1962...at the upper end of the age range for our person. There is no pic in NamUs for Karen, unfortunately. She is thought to have run off with a man...maybe he was not good to her and she later ran away from him and crafted a fake identity? The only things that we know is that she had brown hair and brown eyes and that she was 5'7 already at 15....so I thought it might be worth seeing if we could at least dig up a photo from a yearbook. She was from Cornelius, OR.

 

[deca]

Just in case you are right....I found this missing person...
Karen Lee was 15 when she ran away in 1977....that would make her born around 1962...at the upper end of the age range for our person. There is no pic in NamUs for Karen, unfortunately. She is thought to have run off with a man...maybe he was not good to her and she later ran away from him and crafted a fake identity? The only things that we know is that she had brown hair and brown eyes and that she was 5'7 already at 15....so I thought it might be worth seeing if we could at least dig up a photo from a yearbook. She was from Cornelius, OR.

Maybe, but I think it is an important point that she gave birth in IIRC 2008 (please correct me if I am wrong). That would make Karen Lee 46. While possible, I think that age would be a stretch for having a child.

 

[CarlK90245]

Just in case you are right....I found this missing person...
Karen Lee was 15 when she ran away in 1977....that would make her born around 1962...at the upper end of the age range for our person. There is no pic in NamUs for Karen, unfortunately. She is thought to have run off with a man...maybe he was not good to her and she later ran away from him and crafted a fake identity? The only things that we know is that she had brown hair and brown eyes and that she was 5'7 already at 15....so I thought it might be worth seeing if we could at least dig up a photo from a yearbook. She was from Cornelius, OR.

I've already looked all over the place for a photo of Karen Lee. There aren't any photos of her anywhere. She went to Hillsboro HS, but her photo isn't in the books for the years that she attended. Even the Police have only a grainy poor quality photo of her, but when I asked the detective if he would post the photo to NamUs, he declined.

Her companion was Rodney Grissom.

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/14013/8

 

[GDUD]

I feel IMO that the family is trying to cover it up so as not to cause a scandal to the prominant family

 

[pjclover]

I feel IMO that the family is trying to cover it up so as not to cause a scandal to the prominant family

Or just pure embarrassment. Many families, even those who are estranged from each other, feel shame over a loved one's suicide. It tends to reflect on the family even though we all know that it shouldn't.

Let's not forget that there's also a very young child left in the wake of a whole lot of tragedy. Maybe her father is doing his best to shield her from going to school in a few years and having all the kids know that her Mom was the one who killed herself after they found out she wasn't who she said she was.

I have a feeling local LE has a few more clues to go on than what was released in NamUs. It's a shame that they're not able to release anything that could point us in the right direction. It might eliminate a lot of speculation, but I don't think that will happen.

 

[mikkismom]

Maybe, but I think it is an important point that she gave birth in IIRC 2008 (please correct me if I am wrong). That would make Karen Lee 46. While possible, I think that age would be a stretch for having a child.

Not really. My Aunt had a 'shotgun wedding' at age 45 and went on to have another child! Women are having babies well into their 40s nowadays.

JMO, HTH

 

[RoseRed]

It is possible that she is a few years younger, ran away from home, and needed the SS# to get a job to support herself.

 

[deca]

Another difficult added dimension that I just started looking into is "family abduction child". Let's say the mom took off with LEK when she was a toddler. The mom clues the child in on what happened and helps her get a SSN as a teenager. The teen goes along with it because trying to get her real SSN might alert the authorities where the mom is located. Maybe a few years later, mom dies but at this point LEK doesn't want to give up the life she has started to build for herself or get herself in trouble.

I started looking at these types of cases (missing mom and child or children) but there are so freaking many I doubt I could narrow it down.

 

[Carolyn H.]

It's possible this woman's false identity was not begun for criminal or safety reasons, too. She may have simply herself been an unregistered birth. I personally know of a woman who can't leave the U.S. to travel because she doesn't have and can't get a valid birth certificate. She was born at home. That was a pretty common occurrence at one time. She can't prove she was born in the U.S. or even prove the date she was born.

Extrapolating something like that onto this woman, she may simply have taken someone else's identity so she would have "proof" to show to employers, etc.

 

[Deeds]

Deborah A. Hohenshilt
Missing since February 13, 1988 from Daytona Beach, Volusia County, Florida.
Classification: Involuntary

Vital Statistics

Date Of Birth: January 27, 1962
Age at Time of Disappearance: 26 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'10; 135 pounds.
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Brown hair; brown eyes.

Circumstances of Disappearance
Hohenshilt left her part-time job at Fisherman's Wharf Restaurant in Ponce Inlet and returned to her apartment in Daytona Beach, where she later spoke to someone by phone.

When she failed to report to work the following morning, her Tanglewood apartment was checked and evidence of a violent struggle were found inside. A lamp was knocked over, sheets and pillows were missing, blood was found on her bedspread and two teeth were located next to her bed. Investigators found only her cats.

Her car, a 1981 Chevrolet Chevette, was found abandoned and unlocked near Ellsworth and Bethune streets, near Bethune-Cookman College in Daytona Beach, less than a mile from her apartment. Neighbors said it had been there since Sunday, the day after Hohenshilt was last seen.

One of her employer's reported her missing. Hohenshilt’s mother died when she was 3 months old and her father died about a year before she disappeared. Hohenshilt also worked as a sales agent at a real estate office in Ormond Beach.

http://doenetwork.org/cases/358dffl.html
https://www.findthemissing.org/cases/show/7531
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/h/hohenshilt_deborah.html

 

[CherBearSTL]

In response to Carolyn H above:

Playing devil's advocate here....why would her identity be a secret then? She wouldn't have a secret background if this was a case of no record of birth. I feel that she didn't want anyone to know who she really was for one reason or another.

 

[CherBearSTL]

Deborah A. Hohenshilt
Missing since February 13, 1988 from Daytona Beach, Volusia County, Florida.
Classification: Involuntary

Vital Statistics

Date Of Birth: January 27, 1962
Age at Time of Disappearance: 26 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'10; 135 pounds.
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Brown hair; brown eyes.

Circumstances of Disappearance
Hohenshilt left her part-time job at Fisherman's Wharf Restaurant in Ponce Inlet and returned to her apartment in Daytona Beach, where she later spoke to someone by phone.

When she failed to report to work the following morning, her Tanglewood apartment was checked and evidence of a violent struggle were found inside. A lamp was knocked over, sheets and pillows were missing, blood was found on her bedspread and two teeth were located next to her bed. Investigators found only her cats.

Her car, a 1981 Chevrolet Chevette, was found abandoned and unlocked near Ellsworth and Bethune streets, near Bethune-Cookman College in Daytona Beach, less than a mile from her apartment. Neighbors said it had been there since Sunday, the day after Hohenshilt was last seen.

One of her employer's reported her missing. Hohenshilt’s mother died when she was 3 months old and her father died about a year before she disappeared. Hohenshilt also worked as a sales agent at a real estate office in Ormond Beach.

http://doenetwork.org/cases/358dffl.html
https://www.findthemissing.org/cases/show/7531
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/h/hohenshilt_deborah.html

I think that her circumstances really lean towards a murder. I also don't see a resemblence. Her nose is too straight and her face appears too long. Her other demographics match up well though.

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