Identified! UT - SLC, Body found in Jordan River, Feb'08 - Donna Toland

[NewMommy09]

If anyone thinks they may know the identity of this woman, I found the phone # for Lt. C.T. Smith who was quoted in one of the articles about her.

Lt. C.T. Smith 1-801-799-3720.


I will most likely be calling him this evening as well as calling in a tip to Reno so they can verify that this is/isn't Brianna.

 

[Earthbound Misfit I]

Salt Lake City police are investigating a murder after a woman's body was found floating in the Jordan River.

However, police said they have more questions than answers right now. Homicide detectives don't know who the woman is and aren't saying how she died.

"Once we're able to make that identification as to who she is, we can trace where she's been," Salt Lake City police detective Jeff Bedard said Thursday.

"But until we know who she is, we can't do anything."

At about 4 p.m. Wednesday, two children playing by the Jordan River near the Utah State Fairpark spotted the woman's body floating in the water. She is described as white and appeared to be in her 20s. "It's cold and frozen water," Salt Lake City Police Lt. Gary Young said. "They didn't know how long she's been in there"

More at link: http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695251220,00.html

 

[Earthbound Misfit I]

Hey there! I've only ever lived in Utah so far. I do like it here. We sure have had our share of snow this year and I think we have another storm coming in later!

Hi there fellow Utahn. LOL.
I'm in Texas now, but I'd take Utah over Texas any day of the week.
Hear you are getting plenty of snow this year.

 

[NewMommy09]

Thanks R.Knowley,
I've been trying to find updates.

From R.Knowleys link:
Police were pleading for more information that could help them catch the woman's killer. A reward is being offered for a tip that helps solve the case. Anyone with information can call the Salt Lake City Police Department's Tips for Cash hotline at 801-799-INFO.

 

[NewMommy09]

Hey there! I've only ever lived in Utah so far. I do like it here. We sure have had our share of snow this year and I think we have another storm coming in later!

I never appreciated it until I left. Now I am homesick every single day. I miss more things than I have time to type about. It seems like you all are getting one storm after another. That's probably the only thing I like better about Texas. Say hello to the mountains for me. :crazy:

 

[Earthbound Misfit I]

I wish they would release a little more about this UID. Height, etc. I guess that is probably coming soon.

 

[NewMommy09]

I wish they would release a little more about this UID. Height, etc. I guess that is probably coming soon.

I know, it seems like I have refreshed my browser a million times today.
But it usually takes at least a day or two before they release more details. I did find something from the last article you posted interesting.

(snipped)
"Once we're able to make that identification as to who she is, we can trace where she's been," Salt Lake City police detective Jeff Bedard said Thursday. (End)

Maybe they mean they can backtrack the last day of her life to find her killer. But I got the feeling they don't feel she is from the area.

 

[InterestedNHelping]

I felt the same way, as if they found something that leads them to believe she is from out of the area.

 

[Earthbound Misfit I]

Salt Lake Police investigating a murder
February 7th, 2008 @ 4:10pm

Marc Giauque reporting

Salt Lake City police now believe they have a homicide on their hands.
A woman's body was found in the Jordan River yesterday. Two children found the body floating near the State Fairpark. Police initially said there was no outward show of foul play.

Today, they're investigating a murder. Salt Lake Police Detective Jeff Bedard says, "Well, we can't get into the specifics right now because those are sensitive parts of our investigation, but right now what we are trying to do is make a positive identification of who this person is, so we can start to put the pieces together."

Bedard says the body is of a white woman in her 20s. He says police don't know if she was a transient or a resident.

They're hoping for more clues from the medical examiner's office and possibly from the public.
If you have any information on this case, call 799-INFO.

 

[Earthbound Misfit I]

<snip>
We spoke to some workers at the ski store near where the woman's body was found. They told us they had seen the woman before and that she had a husband. But again, police can't confirm any of that until they make a positive identification on her.
</snip>

Complete article: http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=2623197

 

[SeriouslySearching]

I believe that is a large part of the problem in why we have such a large database of UID's. It's so very sad. Do you think it's the families not reporting the person missing, the media not running the stories, or the LE not wanting the stories to go public? Maybe a mixture of all 3?

Yes, I do believe it is a mixture of all three.

I also think a standardized form which gathers an abundance of information on the missing person is critical and is not done properly. (I found one on another site and it is the best I have ever seen.)

Once this is done, LE should release as much information as possible immediately without jeapordizing the person if they are found safe. This release would include the media and their response is also important.

The best way to find missing people is to use the public as their eyes and ears on the street. It is where they fail miserably. They do not utilize the public immediately (unless it is an Amber Alert).

UIDs databases and Missing persons databases are inadequate, if they are there at all. If you call a group of volunteers sitting for hours and hours digging through endless seas of faces and bad stats a system...it is all they really have, imo. LE doesn't have the time nor the money to search.

If we had the standardized form I was talking about...and our government would put money towards an enormous single data base for cross-referencing this specific information including DNA samples...we would not have this overwhelming situation.

 

[NewMommy09]

<snip>
We spoke to some workers at the ski store near where the woman's body was found. They told us they had seen the woman before and that she had a husband. But again, police can't confirm any of that until they make a positive identification on her.
</snip>

Complete article: http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=2623197

Sounds like this is probably not Bri. I'm definitely thankful for that. But prayers for her family, whoever she is. If she ends up being the woman that was seen at the ski store, and her husband didn't report her missing, I think we can all see where this one is going.

SeriouslySearching,
ITA with your above post. I know I was totally overwhelmed the first time I went to The Doe Network website. I had no idea there were SO many people unidentified, some for decades. I think it's one of the saddest feelings I've ever experienced.

 

[NewMommy09]

http://www.kutv.com/content/news/topnews/story.aspx?content_id=39796f41-b19d-4301-bc81-31c7942cd3e8 A little more at link.

Snipped from article -
Police arrested Gary Leon Toland Thursday night for the murder of his wife, 40-year-old Donna Kay Toland.

Donna Toland was found in the Jordan River on Wednesday. It appears she died of blunt force trauma, according to information released by the Salt Lake City Police Department.

Toland’s husband has been booked into jail on one count of criminal homicide. - End Snip

Wow, they originally said she was in her 20's and she's actually 40. They also said no visible signs of foul play, but the cod is blunt force trauma.

Prayers for Donna's family and friends.

 

[Earthbound Misfit I]

Thanks for posting this StillHoping. I'm glad Debra has been identified and that her husband has been arrested.

 

[SuziQ]

Thanks for the update SH. Wow, LE was on this from the get go. They said they didn't know who she was, she was in her 20's and there was no obvious signs of foul play. They knew who she was, she was 40 and had blunt force trauma. And they knew her husband had murdered her.

I've noticed that since the Elizabeth Smart case, LE here has been very tight mouthed about crime. We usually don't hear of anything until after an arrest is made. Good for them!

ETA: Good for them even though it makes things difficult for us sleuthers and sends us down the completely wrong path!

 

[Earthbound Misfit I]

I am amazed that Utah only has one UID listed. Could that be right? Other states seem to have so many more listed as unidentified.

 

[SeriouslySearching]

They don't list them all here either, RKnowley. They don't list all the missing either. It is very frustrating when you look at LE's sites and only see one or two when you knwo better!

 

[NewMommy09]

I am amazed that Utah only has one UID listed. Could that be right? Other states seem to have so many more listed as unidentified.

I have only ever found the one Salt Lake City Doe that was found in Oct. 2000. I have also found fewer missing persons cases in Utah than elsewhere. But like SS said, I think there could be many more that are not listed on websites.

I also think that with Utah's vast deserts, mine shafts, rugged mountain terrain etc, that it is easier to make a body disappear there. JMO.

 

[NewMommy09]

They believe Donna was killed in December.
A witness told investigators that Gary Toland told her his wife would be found in the river, police wrote in court documents filed Tuesday.
In a subsequent interview, Gary Toland told police, "I killed my wife," detectives wrote. He described a fight when "he was so enraged that he was swinging a shovel around." He said he hit his wife with his fist, and she hit her head on a rock, police wrote.

A little more at link:
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_8246944

I have to agree with you SuziQ. The police completely threw everyone with the details they released on this case. Right down to saying that the body had been in the water for a few days, and now they believe she was killed in December.
I can't say I blame them though (provided they don't need the public's help to solve the crime), you saw what happened with the Elizabeth Smart case when she was found. I wouldn't even read her threads at CTV because of all of the rumors and crap that was being spewed about Liz. It really made me ill to see her victimized like that after her ordeal.