MD MD - Frederick, WhtFem 17-45, UP7477, in steamer trunk in state park, Spondylolysis, Aug'82

[marsh_melancholy]

I found these 3 possible matches for Cheerleader in the Trunk:

Mary Cook Spencer
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Lonene Ray Rogers
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Joanne Williams
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

I would like to know what you think of each one!

Mary doesn't even have a picture available, and the Jane Doe was most likely from out of state.

Lonene was the mother of two children. The Cheerleader shows no signs of having given birth (and if she had, this information would've been made public). Loene also disappeared in 1981 and there's been a general consensus (even among investigators) that The Cheerleader, who was found in '82, had been deceased for a while... NamUs says the post-mortem interval was at least 3 years. I'm inclined to believe this, due to how decomposed/skeletal the remains were.

Joanne Williams' height and weight is inconsistent with Jane Doe's estimations. For example, if Joanne could be as short as 5'0" (according to NamUs), that seems like an automatic rule-out; The Cheerleader was about 5'4". And if Joanne weighed around 100 pounds, she's pretty underweight for The Cheerleader (who was most likely around 130 pounds). Also, I see very few similarities to any of the composites. Lastly, Joanne's hair is blonde... not brown. The Cheerleader was a brunette. Joanne is a probable lead due only to the fact that she was a dancer and fits the age range. (But, I'm looking at all the info, as well as her picture, and I don't think it's her.)

 

[CCJD]

Mary doesn't even have a picture available, and the Jane Doe was most likely from out of state.

RSBM

There's picture of Mary in her thread.

MD - MD - Mary Cook Spencer, 26, Prince Frederick, 14 March 1981

Mary Cook Spencer (Unfortunate could not locate any other pictures of Mary) Date of Birth: June 3, 1954 Age: 26 years old Race: White Gender: Female Height: 5'6" Weight: 140 lbs. Hair Color: Brown Eye Color: Brown Distinguishing Marks/Features: She has freckles and pierced...

www.websleuths.com

 

[John/Jane Doe]

Mary doesn't even have a picture available, and the Jane Doe was most likely from out of state.

Lonene was the mother of two children. The Cheerleader shows no signs of having given birth (and if she had, this information would've been made public). Loene also disappeared in 1981 and there's been a general consensus (even among investigators) that The Cheerleader, who was found in '82, had been deceased for a while... NamUs says the post-mortem interval was at least 3 years. I'm inclined to believe this, due to how decomposed/skeletal the remains were.

Joanne Williams' height and weight is inconsistent with Jane Doe's estimations. For example, if Joanne could be as short as 5'0" (according to NamUs), that seems like an automatic rule-out; The Cheerleader was about 5'4". And if Joanne weighed around 100 pounds, she's pretty underweight for The Cheerleader (who was most likely around 130 pounds). Also, I see very few similarities to any of the composites. Lastly, Joanne's hair is blonde... not brown. The Cheerleader was a brunette. Joanne is a probable lead due only to the fact that she was a dancer and fits the age range. (But, I'm looking at all the info, as well as her picture, and I don't think it's her.)

The Doe Network has a photograph available of Mary Cook Spencer:

3482DFMD - Mary Cook Spencer

 

[citizen_sleuth]

"Decomposed body found in locked trunk," Morning News [Wilmington, DE], 26 August 1982, B1.

Police in this western Maryland city have asked the state medical examiner for help in identifying a decomposed body found in a locked trunk in Frederick County.

Frederick Police Chief Richard Aston said the leaf and debris-covered trunk containing the body was found Tuesday evening by a couple searching for mushrooms in the Frederick watershed area of Gambrill Mountain.

Police said the body was so badly decomposed that it was impossible to determine age or sex. Ashton said police also had not been able to determine cause of death.

"Victim's identity sought," Evening Sun [Baltimore, MD], 26 August 1982, C2.

Police Chief Richard J. Ashton said the trunk containing the body was discovered and opened about 6:15 p.m. Tuesday by a couple who had been looking for mushrooms in the 6,000-acre Frederick watershed area, adjacent to Gambrill State Park.

The trunk had been dragged about 47 feet off one of several unpaved roads that wind through the heavily wooded and hilly area, he said.

Although it was partly covered with leaves and debris, investigators did not think there had been an effort to hide the trunk. "Our guess is that it had been there several months," Chief Ashton said. It's dull-brown color blended with dead brush and leaves nearby.

[...]

Police think it likely that the death occurred elsewhere. "We have no long-term missing persons reports locally," Chief Ashton said.

 

[John/Jane Doe]

Jane “Woman in the Trunk” Doe (unknown-1982) -...

On 28 August 1982 a couple searching for mushrooms in the Frederick City Watershed near Mountaindale spotted a Steamer Trunk. Police found skeletal remains of a white woman with dark hair between 18 and 25 years of age in that trunk. She had undergone extensive dental procedures, some...

es.findagrave.com

 

[marsh_melancholy]

I'm really hoping that our Jane Doe will have, at the very least, a solid update in her case this year. With how many cases were solved last year (and last month), I feel optimistic.

 

[summergirl1]

She really does remind me of Mary Cook Spencer, although that's probably unlikely. Mary vanished about an hour and a half away.

 

[chaddylex]

<modsnip - quoted post contained an unapproved source>


And Mary's NamUs profile was just modified on 3/21/23 (yesterday) and "Cheerleader in the Trunk" still isn't listed as a rule out.
I wish they had pictures of Mary in NamUs - and I agree, I would hope she was looked at since she went missing not far from where the Jane Doe was found. @marylandmissing do you know if Mary was compared?

 

[Oakie]

Is DNA available in this case?

 

[Alleykins]

Is DNA available in this case?

According to Doe Network for both cases, neither has DNA at the moment. This could have changed recently and not been updated yet. However, they both have dental records, so they have a common identifier. For this set of remains, the dental records state on DN:

Dentals: Available. Extensive dental procedures, some of which are consistent with those performed by dental students. Including two crowns on left front teeth, a root canal and numerous fillings. She had one gold-filled tooth on the right upper side and several silver fillings.

This sounds like it would be an easy enough ruleout because if Mary doesn't have any crowns or a root canal, or fillings in the same teeth, or a gold filling, then it couldn't be her.
If she was submitted as a potential match, and they're both still up, I'm thinking they weren't a match. Of course, it would depend on whether or not the dentals were in the same database. If they weren't, and the submission pursued, they'd have been compared manually, which would have generated them being on each other's rule out lists. If both records were in the same database, and neither held locally, then it would be considered an automatic ruleout and wouldn't be listed in NamUs.

 

[summergirl1]

Whoever submitted it as a match never posted about it again, which could mean they never heard back or heard back and it wasn't her, too.

 

[doggybag2355]

I never heard back on my comparisons of Diane Dye and Debbie McCall

 

[Laughing]

I never heard back on my comparisons of Diane Dye and Debbie McCall

I have suggested a few matches -- and have yet to have anything except that "thanks for submitting" message.

 

[Autumn Aware]

She really does remind me of Mary Cook Spencer, although that's probably unlikely. Mary vanished about an hour and a half away.

Same. I discovered Mary's case last night and thought of the Cheerleader in the trunk right away. It is hard to tell if the teeth are the same and there is only one photo available and it's not front facing, so it is difficult to judge face shape. But the nose certainly matches as does hair colour and height. And the location is pretty spot on.

 

[marylandmissing]

<modsnip - quoted post contained an unapproved source>


And Mary's NamUs profile was just modified on 3/21/23 (yesterday) and "Cheerleader in the Trunk" still isn't listed as a rule out.
I wish they had pictures of Mary in NamUs - and I agree, I would hope she was looked at since she went missing not far from where the Jane Doe was found. @marylandmissing do you know if Mary was compared?

If there's dentals on Mary, it would get flagged by NCIC. I know the former forensic dentist at the medical examiner would compare anything that received.

 

[marylandmissing]

Is DNA available in this case?

From what I was told, the forensic team went through the steamer trunk again, and they could not get a sufficient sample. However, I just emailed the detective this morning with this post and asked him what it would take to get this and another local case sent to Orthram to see if they could do anything with it.

 

[marylandmissing]

The two strongest candidates in this case are a local woman from Virginia and a missing woman from Harrisburg. I was told they finally located dentals on both about six months ago, but do not know if they were compared. Unfortunately, this police department does not have a cold case unit, and have had a lot of homicides in the last year that pull them away from cold cases.

 

[Oakie]

I never heard back on my comparisons of Diane Dye and Debbie McCall

Debbie McCall is one of the cases I follow. I don't see her as a candidate for the "wear on the pelvis" aspect.

 

[marsh_melancholy]

I submitted Kathy Wilcox (missing from Michigan since 1972) back in August 2022. I made a phone call; an officer wrote down all my information and thanked me. Composites add up to various photos of Kathy throughout various points in her life. She would have wear on her pelvis due to playing football and softball for several years; she also had broken toes, and there's evidence that Jane Doe had this as well. Nose, eyes, hair color, height, weight, circumstances, etc. add up.

Only setback... Kathy never saw a dentist. She ran away when she was 15 and if she was able to survive by any means, no doubt she'd get her teeth examined (albeit by a dental school). If Jane Doe's wisdom teeth were causing her any amount of significant discomfort, she'd get her teeth examined if she had enough money.

I personally believe that Jane Doe had been deceased for a few years prior to the discovery of her body. The common PMI I keep seeing is roughly 3 years, meaning she may have died around 1979. Therefore, I don't really look into women who went missing in 1980 or after. If Kathy is the Jane Doe and she died in 1979, she would've been 22 or 23... which fits the 17-25 age range. I have a photo of Jane Doe's skull but it's hard to compare it to Kathy's teeth since there aren't many photos of her smiling at an older age.

It's been seven months and I haven't heard back from anyone.

Regardless, I really wish we had some good DNA for this woman. Imagine how fast it could be solved when it finally becomes available.

 

[chaddylex]

If there's dentals on Mary, it would get flagged by NCIC. I know the former forensic dentist at the medical examiner would compare anything that received.

Mary's Doe Network Profile says dentals are available.(but not DNA)

3482DFMD - Mary Cook Spencer

Name: Mary Cook Spencer
Case Classification: Endangered Missing
Missing Since: March 30, 1981
Location Last Seen: Prince Frederick, Calvert County, Maryland

Physical Description​

Date of Birth: June 3, 1954
Age: 26 years old
Race: White
Gender: Female
Height: 5'6"
Weight: 140 lbs
Hair Color: Brown; light brown
Eye Color: Brown
Nickname/Alias: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Freckles; pierced ears; wears eyeglasses

Identifiers​

Dentals: Available
Fingerprints: Not Available
DNA: Not Available

Clothing & Personal Items​

Clothing: Possibly wearing blue jeans; plaid shirt; red jacket; Land Lubber shoes
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Eyeglasses

Circumstances of Disappearance​

Mary Cook Spencer, a newlywed, left home on March 14, 1981, to go shopping. Her 1979 Mercedes was located in the Frying Pan Restaurant parking lot in Lusby. The key was still in the ignition and the doors were locked.

Some agencies list the disappearance date as March 30, 1981.

Investigating Agency(s)​

Agency Name: Maryland State Police Barrack U
Agency Contact Person: N/A
Agency Phone Number: 410-535-1400
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: M8302900

NamUs Case Number: 8712
NCIC Case Number: Unknown

Information Source(s)​

NamUs
Maryland Missing Persons Network
The Capital News Archive - June 2, 1981

Admin Notes​

Added: 01/13/16; Last Updated: 12-02-2022 - By: hwa