CA CA - Whitewater, Riverside Co., UnkFem #UP2599, 13-17, discovered by chiropractor in desert, Jan'86

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

Now, this is an odd one. I couldn't find a thread on this former HotCase, so here we go:

Unidentified Person Case
Female, Uncertain
Date Found: January 1, 1986
Location Found: California
Estimated Age Range: 13-17 Years

Circumstances of Recovery: These skeletal remains were reportedly dug up from a grave in the desert near Whitewater (Riverside County) by a chiropractor some time in 1986. The remains were finally delivered to the San Bernardino County Coroner in November 1999. Examination confirmed that the remains had been buried for years, but no other part of the story can be confirmed. Identity can only be established by dental or head X-rays. Thus far DNA profile cannot be developed.


Details of Recovery
Inventory of Remains: All parts recovered
Condition of Remains: Not recognizable - Partial skeletal parts only

Physical Description
Hair Color: Unknown or Completely Bald
Head Hair Description: Unkown or Completely Bald
Body Hair Description: --
Facial Hair Description: --
Left Eye Color: Unknown or Missing
Right Eye Color: Unknown or Missing
Eye Description: Unknown


Distinctive Physical Features
No Known Information

Clothing and Accessories
No Information Entered




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1467UFCA

Date of Discovery: January 1, 1986
Location of Discovery: Whitewater, Riverside County, California
Estimated Date of Death: At least 10 years prior, possibly longer.
State of Remains: Skeletal
Cause of Death: Unknown

Physical Description
Estimated Age: 13-17 years old
Race: Unknown
Sex: Female
Height: 4'10" to 5'2"
Weight: Unknown
Hair Color: Unknown
Eye Color: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Described as small and gracile. There was a fracture of the right proximal femur which appears to be parimortem.

Identifiers
Dentals: Available. Tooth 23 glued in backward; tooth 22 fractured postmortem. Most of her teeth were missing postmortem. Virgin teeth 18 and 19 remain.
Fingerprints: Not available.
DNA: Not available. A DNA profile cannot be developed at this time.

Clothing & Personal Items
Clothing: Unknown
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown

Circumstances of Discovery
The remains were reportedly discovered by a chiropractor at some point during 1986 near Whitewater, Riverside County, California after being dug up from a grave in the desert. In November 1999, the remains were eventually turned over to the San Bernardino County Coroner.

She was at the location for at least five years.

Identification can only be made with dental or head X-Rays.

Investigating Agency(s)
Agency Name: San Bernardino County Sheriff Department - Coroner Division
Agency Contact Person: September Fonzi-Jones
Agency Phone Number: 909-387-2978
Agency E-Mail: coroner(at)sbcsd.org
Agency Case Number: 99-6775



NCIC Case Number: U790000844
NamUs Case Number: 2599
Former Hot Case Number: 1534



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So, the chiropractor kept the remains until 1999, is this how this is to be understood? And then there's the discrepancy of the estimated time of death in the DoeNetwork link (I highlighted the text in red); NamUs only states that "the remains had been buried for years". I was wondering, were the remains thought to be ancient/historic when discovered?

 

[Liv27]

Could be Kimberley Cozart from Julien, CA.? It’s just a little over two hours from where the body was buried in Whitewater. She went missing in 1977. It’d be easier if there was a reconstruction of the victim.

 

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

Could be Kimberley Cozart from Julien, CA.? It’s just a little over two hours from where the body was buried in Whitewater. She went missing in 1977. It’d be easier if there was a reconstruction of the victim.

Could you provide a link, please?

 

[Liv27]

Could you provide a link, please?

Missing Person Case

 

[LeenC]

This “chiropractor” story seems fishy at best. He randomly dug up human remains and then kept them somewhere for the next 13 years? Why was he digging up graves in the desert in the first place? It’s strange to me as well that they keep referring to him as a chiropractor instead of just as a “man”. It’s as if his profession should explain why he dug up skeletal remains and kept them for over a decade... I guess medical students sometimes have bones to help them study human anatomy, but they tend to get their bones from a store and not by randomly digging up graves in the desert. It sounds as if he knew where to dig...

“Tooth 23 glued in backward”
I sure hope that happened postmortem.

 

[Hoosier952]

This “chiropractor” story seems fishy at best. He randomly dug up human remains and then kept them somewhere for the next 13 years? Why was he digging up graves in the desert in the first place? It’s strange to me as well that they keep referring to him as a chiropractor instead of just as a “man”. It’s as if his profession should explain why he dug up skeletal remains and kept them for over a decade... I guess medical students sometimes have bones to help them study human anatomy, but they tend to get their bones from a store and not by randomly digging up graves in the desert. It sounds as if he knew where to dig...

“Tooth 23 glued in backward”
I sure hope that happened postmortem.

BBM- I'd think any grave in a desert would have all evidence hidden in a very short period of time. The wind would move the dry dirt/sand completely covering any fresh digging and filling. So unless there was a marker, someone told him where to find it, or he put the body there himself, I'm just not buying that this was a random find.

Also keeping a skeleton around for 13 years...I hope he didn't have it mounted in his office or something equally horrifying. Glueing in a tooth backwards seems so odd. How old was this chiro when the body was supposedly dug up? Was he already a chiro then?

 

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

Two ruleouts (four listed, but Lisa Dickinson is listed three times):

MP4537
Lisa Dickinson
09/05/1976
Contra Costa

MP6365
Ivy Matory
07/20/1977
Los Angeles

 

[Maia_1011]

I don’t think it’s necessarily unusual for someone to glue teeth back in place, especially given lack of financial resources to seek dental care. It could have been mistakenly glued backwards by the decedent.

 

[Bit of hope]

What a strange an intriguing case.

She had a fracture in her right proximal femur. Correct me if I'm wrong: parimortem doesn't exists. It's Perimortem, which means "At, or near, the time of death" perimortem - Wiktionary (I know Wiki is not a source)

What is the story about digging up a grave and timeline....I'm not sure I understand what all of this means. It's very confusing. What are we going to do this day? Oh...let's dig up a grave....the whole story seems strange to me...Is it a right interpretation this girl was buried there 5 years before 1986 so around 1981? If she was estimated between 13 and 17 she was born between 1969 - 1973.

Why she can only be identified by dentals or a head X-ray, was there something special with the skull?

More important: this was a child; 13 -17 years, so every attempt to identify her, even more then every other adult Jane or John Doe, is worthwhile.

 

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

What is the story about digging up a grave and timeline....I'm not sure I understand what all of this means. It's very confusing. What are we going to do this day? Oh...let's dig up a grave....the whole story seems strange to me...

Well, to be fair, people have stumbled randomly upon graves and bodies in the desert before (the McStays comes to mind), but I agree, it is a strange and confusing case, and I wish we had more details.

Is it a right interpretation this girl was buried there 5 years before 1986 so around 1981? If she was estimated between 13 and 17 she was born between 1969 - 1973.

The estimated time of death is a part of the confusion; NamUs only states that she had been buried for several years, whereas DoeNetwork operates with TWO estimates: The first stating she had been dead for at least ten years, and the other that she had been at the location* for at least five years. Does these different estimates suggest that Jane Doe was dead and kept somewhere else before she was relocated to the Whitewater desert, where she was found in 1986?
*) I assume this means burial site.

I checked out streetview on Whitewater on Google Maps, and it doesn't seem like a place you'd stop at unless you had to, but I do not know. Do we have any fellow websleuthers who are local or familiar with the area?

 

[Bit of hope]

Using the word Chiropractor specifically and not like LeenC questioned already 'a man', is relevant to this story. Actually I think the chiropractor used it in his office. Found a loose tooth (when digging up the grave....still a strange and morbid story, but maybe he didn't have other means to get to a skeleton) and glued it in. Still not sure how he knew the skeleton was there or if he stumbled on it. I also wonder what made him to 'bring the skeleton in' after so many years (1999) did he retire, died. I can't imagine him having remorse after all this years. Maybe the family did?

 

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

Case last updated April 2019, but I just noticed this:

Estimated Year of Death: 1976-1996

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

I guess since LE only has the chiropractor's word for finding Jane Doe in 1986, they opted to keep PMI as wide as possible? Still a bit weird to see her EYD sat ten years after she was allegedly found, though...

 

[Tabirey]

@othram maybe an interesting one you might want to check out?

 

[Melt71]

Does she have a NCMEC case? I don’t see one but on my phone it’s easy to miss links.

 

[Bit of hope]

@othram maybe an interesting one you might want to check out?

Would love that but the Namus file says; "Identity can only be established by dental or head X-rays. Thus far DNA profile cannot be developed."

 

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

Does she have a NCMEC case? I don’t see one but on my phone it’s easy to miss links.

No, it doesn't appear so, but I did find her in NCMEC's Long Term Missing & Unidentified Child Map. There was no NCMEC poster link in her info box.

ETA reply to @Bit of hope: But doesn't the "thus far" implies that it is not impossible, the technology isn't there at the moment to develop a DNA profile? We don't know when the last extractions were done. I am reminded of Irondequoit Jane Doe, who had insufficient DNA for years, until 2019 when newer technology made the samples sufficient enough to obtain a DNA profile at last. And to be painfully realistic about it, I'm not sure how much LE prioritise cases like this, but probably not much.

 

[Bit of hope]

No, it doesn't appear so, but I did find her in NCMEC's Long Term Missing & Unidentified Child Map. There was no NCMEC poster link in her info box.

ETA reply to @Bit of hope: But doesn't the "thus far" implies that it is not impossible, the technology isn't there at the moment to develop a DNA profile? We don't know when the last extractions were done. I am reminded of Irondequoit Jane Doe, who had insufficient DNA for years, until 2019 when newer technology made the samples sufficient enough to obtain a DNA profile at last. And to be painfully realistic about it, I'm not sure how much LE prioritise cases like this, but probably not much.

I believe so and want to keep hope more advanced technology can be used.

 

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

I believe so and want to keep hope more advanced technology can be used.

Fyi, @othram just solved a case where "a new record-minimum for how much (or how little!) DNA is needed for FGG", so there's always hope

 

[Tabirey]

Would love that but the Namus file says; "Identity can only be established by dental or head X-rays. Thus far DNA profile cannot be developed."

That's why I tagged @othram , they've had success with their new technology where others have failed. I am hopeful they'll take this one on and try. It's past time for this child to have her name back.

 

[Feme98]

I believe that they’ll get an identification via DNA! They do such amazing work!