Identified! OH - Dobbstown, 'Belle in the Well' WhtFem UP6259, 30-60, in cistern, Apr'81 - Louise Petersen

Rest In Peace, Louise. Kudos to you, DNA Doe! This one was a hard one for you, and you came through!

My first thought is that the person who killed her died in 1992. That may be very unfair of me. I hope that the police persevere, and release enough facts to clarify the situation.
 
Rest In Peace, Louise. Kudos to you, DNA Doe! This one was a hard one for you, and you came through!

My first thought is that the person who killed her died in 1992. That may be very unfair of me. I hope that the police persevere, and release enough facts to clarify the situation.

Her husband died in 1992.
 
That’s what she’s saying.

I don’t think her husband was involved. Although, there’s not a lot of info about her life.

Excellent reading between the lines. And I think you’re right about her husband, based on what little we know.

A little info here. 'Belle in the Well' identified during news conference

“Flesher moved to Ohio and back again to West Virginia. At some point in her life, she was believed to have spent time in Nevada and also had spent time in Oregon.”

That she wasn’t reported missing—possibly a degree of estrangement from her entire family? Her children were almost certainly adults. But, that would mean that her husband might have no reason to report her missing. (Sometimes husbands murder their wife and say ‘she left.’ But in this case, doesn’t it look as though she actually had left, some time before?)

The bus ticket and locker key—had she traveled back to Ohio to see someone?

I wonder where in Ohio she lived, when she did live there. Her husband died in Belpre, Ohio. I wonder where he lived in 1979.
 
They also mentioned that the only picture they had of Louise was one from her highschool graduation and she died when she was 65! That means neither of her living daughters could find or had any pictures of their mother left.

I’m really hoping someone that knew Louise comes forward with later pictures, sort of like Mary Silvani.
 
They also mentioned that the only picture they had of Louise was one from her highschool graduation and she died when she was 65! That means neither of her living daughters could find or had any pictures of their mother left.

I’m really hoping someone that knew Louise comes forward with later pictures, sort of like Mary Silvani.
I have very few pics of my mom ( she’s still living) but hates having her pic taken as I used to. The only pics I have are ones I had to take when she was preoccupied and didn’t notice a camera. It’s easier now with cell phones but she’s quick to cover her face & they also didn’t have that option at the time so that could be part of the reason they dont have any pictures.
My mom being that way is probably why I hated having mine taken but I’ve realized my grandkids would need something & hopefully my husband would want a picture
 
It's possible, makes me wonder if the coldness of the weather helped preserve her remains, as soft tissue was still on her body.
Very possible & with her being in water that’s underground it probably stayed cold most of the year if not all year.
I’m hoping but doubtful that there was some part of the rope that wasn’t submerged and they could get dna off it but with it being tied to concrete block idk
 
I couldn’t hear a lot of the presser as I did not have headphones but they mentioned something about her income and finances prior to her death. I was going to go back and try to listen to what happened.
They said I believe it was a neighbor or new resident ( the sound in the video I saw wasn’t the best) got the checks and didn’t know where to forward them to so held on to them ( not cashing them) so it seems like they could ask the them when they started receiving checks but they may have passed and possibly children told police if it? They must have taken the checks to ssa it something because it dies t sound as if they still have them
 
Her husband died in 1992.
That’s what she’s saying.

I don’t think her husband was involved. Although, there’s not a lot of info about her life.
I’m wondering if they weren’t separated and maybe had been for a while. The death of a child no matter how old can drive ppl including entire families apart.

Just my gut feeling is it was a random crime where someone saw an opportunity but I could be wrong. I know it’s usually someone close to victim
 
They said I believe it was a neighbor or new resident ( the sound in the video I saw wasn’t the best) got the checks and didn’t know where to forward them to so held on to them ( not cashing them) so it seems like they could ask the them when they started receiving checks but they may have passed and possibly children told police if it? They must have taken the checks to ssa it something because it dies t sound as if they still have them
Would there be any document or record keeping of some sort to find out from when checks weren't cashed out, apart from the checks themselves, or is that too much to hope for?

I’m wondering if they weren’t separated and maybe had been for a while. The death of a child no matter how old can drive ppl including entire families apart.

Just my gut feeling is it was a random crime where someone saw an opportunity but I could be wrong. I know it’s usually someone close to victim
At the first look of it, the case has many similarities to Mary Silvani's case; it wouldn't surprise me if this was just a random murder, or a break-in gone wrong or something like that, that was considered "easy" for the perpetrator because she was seemingly a lone woman of a certain age.
 
What's the history of the property that she was found in the well? Why was she not reported as a missing persons? Why didn't the SS admin check out why her checks were not being cashed? So sad someone can just disappear, be murdered,and stuffed in a well, and forgotten.
 
What's the history of the property that she was found in the well? Why was she not reported as a missing persons? Why didn't the SS admin check out why her checks were not being cashed? So sad someone can just disappear, be murdered,and stuffed in a well, and forgotten.

The reason why she wasn’t reported missing could be due to her estrangement from her family, reminds me of the woman whose skull was found in 2015, her family also didn’t report her missing as well.
 

Due to extensive intermarriage in the community it took over 14 months to finally identify her.

She and her daughter were estranged and even now her daughter doesn't want to be identified. It is sad that her daughter probably believed her mother lived many years without trying to contact her or repair their relationship. In reality, her mother has been dead for many, many years. I wonder how her other daughter felt about her. This case is intriguing.
 
Excellent reading between the lines. And I think you’re right about her husband, based on what little we know.

A little info here. 'Belle in the Well' identified during news conference

“Flesher moved to Ohio and back again to West Virginia. At some point in her life, she was believed to have spent time in Nevada and also had spent time in Oregon.”

That she wasn’t reported missing—possibly a degree of estrangement from her entire family? Her children were almost certainly adults. But, that would mean that her husband might have no reason to report her missing. (Sometimes husbands murder their wife and say ‘she left.’ But in this case, doesn’t it look as though she actually had left, some time before?)

The bus ticket and locker key—had she traveled back to Ohio to see someone?

I wonder where in Ohio she lived, when she did live there. Her husband died in Belpre, Ohio. I wonder where he lived in 1979.

I did a bit of sleuthing this afternoon. Her husbands grave is available on find grave. It appears he was re married in 1967 and buried with his second wife who died not long after him in 1992. So it seems plausible he was estranged from Louise for some time. He lived just over the border from wv in Ohio at the time he passed away. Her middle daughter passed away in Wyoming in 1959 and is buried at Wyoming state training school. Then it was a school for disabled children or children who’s parents were struggling to cope. I found all this by just typing names and locations from the press conference in to google, and it came back with find a grave information. It seems she did have a troubled life. I’m glad she has her name back.
 
I did a bit of sleuthing this afternoon. Her husbands grave is available on find grave. It appears he was re married in 1967 and buried with his second wife who died not long after him in 1992. So it seems plausible he was estranged from Louise for some time. He lived just over the border from wv in Ohio at the time he passed away. Her middle daughter passed away in Wyoming in 1959 and is buried at Wyoming state training school. Then it was a school for disabled children or children who’s parents were struggling to cope. I found all this by just typing names and locations from the press conference in to google, and it came back with find a grave information. It seems she did have a troubled life. I’m glad she has her name back.

Welcome to Websleuths, weegee!

Wonderful research. Such a sad story.
 

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