Identified! TX - Huntsville, 'Walker County Jane Doe', WhtFem 14-16, 91UFTX, Nov'80 #4 Sherry Ann Jarvis

[Friday Fan]

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Did she really need directions to Ellis, or was she trying to make sure multiple people were aware of her presence and that she was headed to Ellis in case something happened to her?

Ellis is in the middle of nowhere. There are lots of TDCJ facilities in Huntsville. She could have gone to one, then to another, but none of them were Ellis. Huntsville is a prison town. I can see someone showing up in town: "OK..I'm in Huntsville, the prison should be here"

You would need a good quality Rand-McNally's to find your way to Ellis from Huntsville.

Sadly, the Texas prison system was originally built on former plantations and I don't want to get into controversy, but it was built for chain gangs and stuff like like. Anyway, you have a lot of these prisons all sprawled out.

To add to more confusion: I don't believe inmates were executed at Ellis. They are brought into the Huntsville Unit and executed there.



Sherry Found here: Google Maps
Ellis Unit: Google Maps

 

[Beekarina]

Thank you @Friday Fan That helps clarify why the first set of directions may have been to unclear, confusing, etc. I was hung up a little on how someone could travel so far at such a young age, and then be asking for the same directions consecutively. It just feels weird to me.

I guess if she wanted/ needed other help, when the waitress asked "Do your parents know where you are?" unless someone was in the truck stop watching her, that would have been the opportunity to ask.

 

[Adrian_Almost_Sleuth]

Even if this case is solved, we may never know why she was in Huntsville...

She was probably killed by a random stranger who saw her as easy prey: young, alone and needing a ride. This would be mutually exclusive of her reason for being in Huntsville.

Maybe people she was staying with may come forward and might remember why she went to Huntsville, but I would not be surprised if that info would be part of an investigation and it may not be released to the public, unless someone speaks to the media first.

Also chances are who killed her is already dead, if the person was a much older individual. (my brain goes to trucker, even if it isn't 100% proven)

 

[Friday Fan]

The sun set in Huntsville at 5:33 PM on October 31, 1980. Daylight Saving Time ended on October 26th, 1980. (The current schedule is based on 2007 legislation)


So around 5:30 pm, the window was running out to make it out to the Ellis Unit with any visible light. The roads going up the the unit are two lane and rural. There do not appear to be any street lights for 15 miles.

 

[Friday Fan]

I am looking for a newspaper article from a few years ago and can't find it. It was about the former lead investigator in her death who is now retired but still working on her case. The article contained two unique pieces of information. First, it contained the only mention of another witness who saw a teenage girl matching her description talking to young men in a station wagon. While this was fairly vague, it was the only indication that she might have left the truck stop alive. I personally believe she was killed by a truck driver, so I don't know what to make of this witness, but it is an interesting observation. The other piece of information was about the inmates at the prison. In the article, he stated that there was basically only one person that they suspected of being their contact, but he stonewalled them. I find that fascinating, because it suggests that they had some idea what she was looking for in the prison.

Has someone seen the article and knows where to find it?

It has a lot of errors in it...

https://www.portasouthjetty.com/articles/cold-case/

It says she was last seen during the day on October 30th.

Whereas, she was last seen in the early evening at the Hitchin Post on October 31st. Both time lines are very different.

I just don't find this credible....

He is also wrong about runaways. He called them "throwaways, who were never reported missing". That has proven pretty much to be BS. Parents do care. They may get frustrated and give up, but most of the time, they had contacted someone.

 

[Sierras]

I know there's a lot of speculation about why Sherry was trying to get to the prison. An awful thought has come to me. I sure hope it wasn't some kind of joke/prank that someone was trying to pull on her and ... it went horribly wrong.

 

[onceuponadecember]

My god, this is an even sadder timeline than I initially expected. From Carl's initial words, I had thought she was just wonderous and left home one day, but now I see it is even worse than any of us probably had thought.

 

[Spilt_Milk.77]

I wonder if they were freckles that were only really noticeable in the summer months and not the colder ones, when she was found.
But one of the recons does feature the mole, so they were aware of it it seems. Just don't understand why it wasn't listed as a distinguishing feature anywhere IF they knew about it

I'm from Fort Worth Texas which is a long way up north from where she was found and I didn't live in the 80s but it doesn't get that cold here, even now it's still getting up to 80. It might be hidden by something in the post mortem or covered by the mortician by accident after embalming.

 

[Hockeyfan158]

I think this might have been the guy who killed her again speculation but i think it might have been him or Edward Harold Bell Robert Ben Rhoades - Wikipedia

 

[Springrain]

I know there's a lot of speculation about why Sherry was trying to get to the prison. An awful thought has come to me. I sure hope it wasn't some kind of joke/prank that someone was trying to pull on her and ... it went horribly wrong.

Sorry, I'm not really sure what you mean - would you mind cluing me in a bit as to what you mean?

I'm from Fort Worth Texas which is a long way up north from where she was found and I didn't live in the 80s but it doesn't get that cold here, even now it's still getting up to 80. It might be hidden by something in the post mortem or covered by the mortician by accident after embalming.

It's up to 80 in November in Texas? Dang. If it was around that temp when Sherry got to Huntsville, I don't understand why she dressed as warmly as she did, especially with her being from Minnesota and (presumably) used to very cold weather. Maybe it was colder that day, I guess, but I have trouble understanding why a Minnesota girl would wear a blouse and a sweater and jeans in 80-ish weather?

 

[Spilt_Milk.77]

Sorry, I'm not really sure what you mean - would you mind cluing me in a bit as to what you mean?



It's up to 80 in November in Texas? Dang. If it was around that temp when Sherry got to Huntsville, I don't understand why she dressed as warmly as she did, especially with her being from Minnesota and (presumably) used to very cold weather. Maybe it was colder that day, I guess, but I have trouble understanding why a Minnesota girl would wear a blouse and a sweater and jeans in 80-ish weather?

It could've been for night temps, it's 54 and windy right now and the wind can get to you after walking for awhile. Maybe for the air conditioning in some places too.

 

[Spilt_Milk.77]

It could've been for night temps, it's 54 and windy right now and the wind can get to you after walking for awhile. Maybe for the air conditioning in some places too.

To add to this too: during my sophomore year I would be super cold in the morning with it being in the 50s and 40s when I would go to school I would layer with long sleeves and a jacket but it heating up to the upper 70s by 5 when I would go home. I'm hoping that might put it into perspective a Little

 

[abbey345]

According to the Weather Underground, this was the actual weather report for Oct. 31,1980.

College Station, TX Weather History | Weather Underground

 

[Spilt_Milk.77]

I looked up the weather on weather underground and it got down to 34 that night. (I don't know how reliable it is..weather underground used to have really good data, but things have gotten messed up over there) However San Antonio's was 37...so much cooler than average...if it is reliable....A big if

What city did you use? There's a post above that shows collage station which is super close to walker county and here's a link for Houston which is an hour away from walker county: Houston, TX Weather History | Weather Underground

It was in the 40s at the lowest according to the college station weather.

Now before we get too distracted with what the weather was I started talking about it because someone thought her freckles could've disappeared with the colder months. The weather here is too warm at that time for that dark of a freckle to vanish. Its just not visible in the post mortem and I think it's not visible after the embalming due to the type of foundation they use. Since it's not visible in those photos it's not really shown in the reconstruction.

 

[Sierras]

@Springrain, I'm sorry for being confusing. It was Halloween night as we all know. I just have a vague idea of some kids trying to pull a joke/prank on her by telling her she was supposed to meet someone at/by the prison. I don't know. I could be way off. It was just a wild idea that came across my mind. That may not even be what happened.

 

[Friday Fan]

What city did you use? There's a post above that shows collage station which is super close to walker county and here's a link for Houston which is an hour away from walker county: Houston, TX Weather History | Weather Underground

It was in the 40s at the lowest according to the college station weather.

Now before we get too distracted with what the weather was I started talking about it because someone thought her freckles could've disappeared with the colder months. The weather here is too warm at that time for that dark of a freckle to vanish. Its just not visible in the post mortem and I think it's not visible after the embalming due to the type of foundation they use. Since it's not visible in those photos it's not really shown in the reconstruction.

You can order here: Search | Climate Data Online (CDO) | National Climatic Data Center (NCDC)

It was free.


Sweater weather in College Station!
USW00003904 COLLEGE STATION EASTERWOOD FIELD, TX US 1980-10-31
71 35
USW00003904 COLLEGE STATION EASTERWOOD FIELD, TX US 1980-11-01
74 45

Normally, I would not wear a sweater and jeans on Halloween, but this is much cooler than average, so Sherry was dressed for the weather!

 

[Springrain]

@Springrain, I'm sorry for being confusing. It was Halloween night as we all know. I just have a vague idea of some kids trying to pull a joke/prank on her by telling her she was supposed to meet someone at/by the prison. I don't know. I could be way off. It was just a wild idea that came across my mind. That may not even be what happened.

Oh, OK! I wasn't sure if you meant that it was possible that she was pranked by being told to meet someone or send a message or if her actual murder was some prank that went really wrong.

 

[mastiphal25]

I would also investigate the "employee" who took the necklace and their relatives and friends. What if they took it to make sure her killer doesn't get caught?

 

[Friday Fan]

@Springrain, I'm sorry for being confusing. It was Halloween night as we all know. I just have a vague idea of some kids trying to pull a joke/prank on her by telling her she was supposed to meet someone at/by the prison. I don't know. I could be way off. It was just a wild idea that came across my mind. That may not even be what happened.

I've thought that maybe that was why she was looking for the Ellis Unit. It's Halloween and there is a cemetery there. The cemetery is full of former death row inmates whose families did not claim their bodies, so it would be a spooky place for teenagers to hang out on Halloween.
Unfortunately, she did not make it to the Ellis Unit.

 

[Beekarina]

Another thing to consider: the woman who mentioned Sherry staying with an older couple on her street in Aransas Pass. IF Sherry had actually come from Aransas Pass to Hunstville, a 4 hour journey for a prank seems weird?

If Huntsville is a prison town, Aransas Pass looks like it is mostly fishing and that sort of thing. Strange.