Identified! AZ - Coconino Co, 'Valentine Sally' WhtFem 585UFAZ, 14-19, along I-40, Feb'82 -Carolyn Celeste Eaton

Carolyn's story stuck with me for a couple of reasons. In the drawings she looks so normal (I don't mean anything negative by that)..she just looks like someone I would have hung out with. Second the toothache, I've had my fair share and they suck!

I was happy she was identified..she deserved so much better than what she got.

.
I'm trying to start a conversation about Woodlawn jane doe, this poor child needs some affirmation, can I include you in the conversation?
 
From this clipping, Carolyn apparently told the student who picked her up (on 02/02) that she had just begun root canal work.

Maybe she had it drilled on early January 1982 or by late December 1981.
He also told her that he lived with some friends in Phoenix, did those friends really exist?
 
Here is the photo that CCSD shared with me, upon asking.

This photo was provided by Carolyn’s family and I have enhanced her face.
 

Attachments

  • F6973471-B1A7-4AF3-B2DA-BBEF9B264A1A.png
    F6973471-B1A7-4AF3-B2DA-BBEF9B264A1A.png
    38.3 KB · Views: 289
  • 49A41DC9-D453-4BEC-AA4B-C12DBB7F039A.jpeg
    49A41DC9-D453-4BEC-AA4B-C12DBB7F039A.jpeg
    53.4 KB · Views: 262
Now that we have a official photo of her, I’m pretty confident that she is the Carolyn Eaton that attended South Ripley High School and whose photo is on the yearbook of 79’

I’ve enhanced and colorized her photo, and would like to know if it’s okay to post it, the resemblance between both photos is uncanny.
 
Now that we have a official photo of her, I’m pretty confident that she is the Carolyn Eaton that attended South Ripley High School and whose photo is on the yearbook of 79’

I’ve enhanced and colorized her photo, and would like to know if it’s okay to post it, the resemblance between both photos is uncanny.

I'll be honest, I'm not really sure the Carolyn Eaton from South Ripley HS yearbook is the blonde-haired girl. Going by the order of the names going top-down and the photos left-right, I think the Carolyn Eaton from South Ripley HS is the dark-haired girl. And even if the blonde haired girl is Carolyn Eaton, I don't think she's our Carolyn, because her nose and eyes look quite different.
 
Now that we have a official photo of her, I’m pretty confident that she is the Carolyn Eaton that attended South Ripley High School and whose photo is on the yearbook of 79’

I’ve enhanced and colorized her photo, and would like to know if it’s okay to post it, the resemblance between both photos is uncanny.
I would halt on posting it for now. I’ll go yearbook hunting after I finish grading some presentations my kiddos recorded. (Could you possibly send me the photos in conversations? I have a pretty good recognition of faces)
 
I'll be honest, I'm not really sure the Carolyn Eaton from South Ripley HS yearbook is the blonde-haired girl. Going by the order of the names going top-down and the photos left-right, I think the Carolyn Eaton from South Ripley HS is the dark-haired girl. And even if the blonde haired girl is Carolyn Eaton, I don't think she's our Carolyn, because her nose and eyes look quite different.
When looking at the order of that section of the yearbook, the first name matches the photo to the right.
 
So from how it sounds, Carolyn ran away from home. She probably got involved in an unknown situation and ended up with the man at the restaurant, who (most likely) killed her.

I think that perhaps (and if it is the man last seen with her did it) the murder occurred inside the truck’s cabin, and then he drove a mile to where her body was found.
 
Here’s my timeline of her life as of right now:
  • October 1, 1964: Carolyn is born in Missouri.
  • December 17, 1978: Carolyn’s father, “D”, dies.
  • January 13, 1981: Carolyn’s maternal grandfather, “H”, dies in IL.
  • March 30, 1981: Carolyn’s maternal grandmother, “E”, dies in IL.
  • December 1981: Carolyn runs away from home in St. Louis, MO.
  • February 4, 1982: Carolyn is witnessed with an UID Male at a restaurant in AZ.
  • February 4-13, 1982: Carolyn dies of unknown causes.
  • February 14, 1982: Carolyn is found dead in AZ.
 
I was going to reply to this:
That kind of pain can be debilitating, and maybe that was all she could afford. She tried to do what she could for herself, so is it possible that the dentist was working for a social health facility?
but then saw this post:
From this clipping, Carolyn apparently told the student who picked her up (on 02/02) that she had just begun root canal work.
Maybe she had it drilled on early January 1982 or by late December 1981.

I wonder what she meant by "just". Last week? A month earlier? Root canals ARE expensive and WERE expensive. They were complicated procedures back then and are (still) also very time-consuming and require multiple visits to accomplish.

She stated that she was working as a dishwasher, and a minimum wage job isn't going to pay for a root canal. Especially one that she could not have been working (if she actually worked it at all) for no longer than a month. Nor the X-rays required or the pain-killing medication, nor the cap or crown required to finish the job. A person living a transient lifestyle simply can't afford it. Especially as she was travelling about.

I'm still more akin to think she had it done prior to leaving her home New Year's Eve where perhaps she was on a Dental Coverage plan under her parent? The fact she had the first part done means that someone anted up a lot of cash, or a dental plan to make that happen and even get her that far into the process.

For people not covered by dental plans, the cost of a root canal is very cost-prohibitive. To this day for persons not covered under dental plans or working very well-paying jobs (unlike the homeless, indigent, kids on the run etc) --- the go-to option for dentists for persons who can not afford the costs, the pain-killing drugs too etc, is to simply remove the infected tooth. Et voila!! Problem solved very quickly, easily, cheaply and efficiently in 10 minutes. No follow-up or pain killers required. Tooth extraction would have been the route a dentist took to look after the infected tooth of someone without the ability to afford a root canal. Still happens that way today. That's why I'm convinced the procedure began before she ran away.

Interesting. She stated in the article you linked she was trying to get back to Phoenix then hitch a ride to NJ. What did she do in the ensuing 12 days between the 2nd and the 14th? She told them at the diner that she was making her way back to New Jersey no? I can't remember exactly, but she brought up New Jersey with someone else too.

Edit: NVM. It was the 14th when she was found.
 
Last edited:
Here’s my timeline of her life as of right now:
  • October 1, 1964: Carolyn is born in Missouri.
  • December 17, 1978: Carolyn’s father, “D”, dies.
  • January 13, 1981: Carolyn’s maternal grandfather, “H”, dies in IL.
  • March 30, 1981: Carolyn’s maternal grandmother, “E”, dies in IL.
  • December 1981: Carolyn runs away from home in St. Louis, MO.
  • February 4, 1982: Carolyn is witnessed with an UID Male at a restaurant in AZ.
  • February 4-13, 1982: Carolyn dies of unknown causes.
  • February 14, 1982: Carolyn is found dead in AZ.
Remember the college student who picked her up on the 2nd of February ;)
 
I was going to reply to this:

but then saw this post:


I wonder what she meant by "just". Last week? A month earlier? Root canals ARE expensive and WERE expensive. They were complicated procedures back then and are (still) also very time-consuming and require multiple visits to accomplish.

She stated that she was working as a dishwasher, and a minimum wage job isn't going to pay for a root canal. Especially one that she could not have been working (if she actually worked it at all) for no longer than a month. Nor the X-rays required or the pain-killing medication, nor the cap or crown required to finish the job. A person living a transient lifestyle simply can't afford it. Especially as she was travelling about.

I'm still more akin to think she had it done prior to leaving her home New Year's Eve where perhaps she was on a Dental Coverage plan under her parent? The fact she had the first part done means that someone anted up a lot of cash, or a dental plan to make that happen and even get her that far into the process.

For people not covered by dental plans, the cost of a root canal is very cost-prohibitive. To this day for persons not covered under dental plans or working very well-paying jobs (unlike the homeless, indigent, kids on the run etc) --- the go-to option for dentists for persons who can not afford the costs, the pain-killing drugs too etc, is to simply remove the infected tooth. Et voila!! Problem solved very quickly, easily, cheaply and efficiently in 10 minutes. No follow-up or pain killers required. Tooth extraction would have been the route a dentist took to look after the infected tooth of someone without the ability to afford a root canal. Still happens that way today. That's why I'm convinced the procedure began before she ran away.

Interesting. She stated in the article you linked she was trying to get back to Phoenix then hitch a ride to NJ. What did she do in the ensuing 12 days between the 2nd and the 14th? She told them at the diner that she was making her way back to New Jersey no? I can't remember exactly, but she brought up New Jersey with someone else too.

Edit: NVM. It was the 14th when she was found.
Apparently, from news clipping, she was staying with friends in Phoenix and had to go to New Jersey urgently.

Maybe she was wearing the same clothes on the second and on the third, given that the person who picked her up, recognized her.

I also agree that she had her dental work done prior to her running away, maybe Carolyn’s family has more insight in regards to her root canal.
 
When looking at the order of that section of the yearbook, the first name matches the photo to the right.
It appears that the first name matches the photo to the left, the second name matches the photo on the right. For example, in the the sixth row on the page, J.G.'s name is first and his photo is on the left. D.G.'s name is second and her photo is on the right.

I found the girl on the top right in the 1977 yearbook and her name isn't Carolyn Eaton, it is A.E. I've been looking through yearbooks on Ancestry recently and I've noticed a lot of transcription errors.
 

Members online

Online statistics

Members online
177
Guests online
1,585
Total visitors
1,762

Forum statistics

Threads
589,952
Messages
17,928,165
Members
228,015
Latest member
Amberraff
Back
Top