Match! CA - Sierra Madre, AsianFem (231UFCA), 16+ *Doungboupa "Dawn" Sihakhom*

[mae]

I am so glad to see a confirmation. Hopefully Dawn's family has the beginning of some kind of closure. What a tragic story. I am glad the doe got her name back and Dawn got her identity back.

Rest in Peace, Dawn.

Nice work, Snufamonbobball.

 

[catnron]

I spoke at length with the San Bernadino Coroner Investigator this afternoon, he has a private citizen researcher who works with him, and she also had made the connection. He is a truly dedicated man, who cares deeply for the unidentifed. He works tirelessly- to bring all the lost, back home. Say a prayer for Dawn and her family tonight. May her spirit be set free and may justice be served.

Each day when the early morning light begins to shine on the horizon, the rise of the morning sun will always have her name- Dawn.

Bless you for your caring heart.

 

[grandmakin]

You did a great job, Snuf. You are one of the reasons I am so impressed with this site.

 

[not_my_kids]

In the defense of LE, I know what the term civilian researcher usually entails. Most civilian researchers have day jobs and often have too much information to work with. A lot of them are influenced by the beliefs of the detective that they work with, and that can be detrimental to finding a match.
Some of them are not allowed to visit forums such as this one, at least not in the context of research, and some are not allowed to say whether they are working on a certain case or not. There are confidentiality agreements in place, some so strict that the researchers can't even acknowledge whether or not they have ever seen a case file.
Here, we are free to share the information that we have. But some of the researchers are so effectively cut off from other resources that although they may have the case file, that is all they have.

Not that it changes how proud we are all of Snuf. This is what we all work for.

 

[Snufamonbobball]

As I have said, San Bernadino County Coroner should be very proud of themselves!! They use every tool they have available, and spend hours of their own personal time to finding the identities of the unknown. I wish every LE office I had dealt with was half as interested as them.

Here's the thing- ALL OF US CAN MAKE MATCHES! All it takes is DEDICATION, PERSISTANCE, and an ok memory dosen't hurt either. There are thousands of cases, waiting for that one person to make that spark. Remembering a little detail here, remembering a date there, and just checking the available databases- most of the time when we present a potential match, it won't be one, but that isn't a bad thing. I see it as increasing the odds for the next potential match. I always say when a match happens it's a victory for every researcher. Tommorrow it could be you who gets that spark, and that in no way diminishes what others have done previous to that. If they have submitted and it was a rule out, that is important. It gives others valuable information to work with- including LE.

Websleuths has some great researchers and is full of information, everyone who is reading this should be inspired to work on the cases that touch them. It's because of ALL OF US this is a great site, let's use our collective brains, and solve a mystery!!!!

Dawn was and is special to me, I have searched for her for years. I may never make that spark again, but I know in my soul- that the effort is still worthwile. Find the case that touches you, you may be the thing that is needed to solve that case.

 

[kylie]

I spoke at length with the San Bernadino Coroner Investigator this afternoon, he has a private citizen researcher who works with him, and she also had made the connection. He is a truly dedicated man, who cares deeply for the unidentifed. He works tirelessly- to bring all the lost, back home. Say a prayer for Dawn and her family tonight. May her spirit be set free and may justice be served.

Each day when the early morning light begins to shine on the horizon, the rise of the morning sun will always have her name- Dawn.

Doesn't that piss you off that the sherriff's were so uncaring? If I were you I would write a letter and include pictures and everything and your experiences with them and the fact that this was a match. That is infuriating.

 

[Roselvr]

If she had made the connection then why wasn't Dawn ID'd sooner? Seems a bit coincidental for them to make that claim to me. I know the end result is what were all after. But you invested alot to ID this victim. You my fellow sleuther, is the one that has my respect and admiration.

The same thing happened in another case here. A WS member called, then claimed they already had the connection

I spoke at length with the San Bernadino Coroner Investigator this afternoon, he has a private citizen researcher who works with him, and she also had made the connection. He is a truly dedicated man, who cares deeply for the unidentifed. He works tirelessly- to bring all the lost, back home. Say a prayer for Dawn and her family tonight. May her spirit be set free and may justice be served.

Each day when the early morning light begins to shine on the horizon, the rise of the morning sun will always have her name- Dawn.

Congrats.
Give yourself a huge pat on the back as well as a large hug.
Sorry, I don't believe they had someone working the case.
Forums like these are frowned upon. I don't think they want to glorify it.

 

[Fairy1]

Snuf - don't let them take anything away from you - this was your match! They want to save face - they should have figured this out long before now. You are awesome and WE know what you have accomplished!

BTW - it was teonspaleprincess that found a match a while back that LE should have found and she got zero credit. I'll try to find the thread.....

 

[itsreenw]

Snuf, I hope you realize what a difference you have made in the lives of Dawn's family members. No more wondering, no more worrying.

That was great sleuthing and whether or not someone else made the connection, it was your diligence that brought this young lady home to her family.

 

[justthinkin]

Wow, hadn't checked this thread in a couple of days. Yahoo, Snuf, you did it!!! Big congratulations are in order. It's people like you, people like all of us here trying to make a difference that makes Websleuths what it is. Stupendous job there. Pat yourself on the back for me, ok?

You've returned Dawn to her family. She has her name back, and this is what it's all about, bringing them home.

 

[LadyL]

it's so awesome that there are people like you (& many others here!) who spend countless hours to just simply do a good thing

after reading about disgusting crimes & feeling so disallusioned with the human race, seeing a thread like this is a bright spot that restores faith

good job Snuff!

 

[Hulagirl29]

Snuf, you should be a detective! Great work.

 

[Marigold]

You did amazing detective work! God bless you and everyone that has worked to help identify Dawn.

 

[mae]

Snuf, you should be a detective! Great work.

Right?!?

Snuf, you have an eye. I am so glad to have you here. You have been so great at making connections and possible matches. And like you said, even if it's not the match, it rules someone out and we can keep going.

 

[mae]

The same thing happened in another case here. A WS member called, then claimed they already had the connection

Snuf - don't let them take anything away from you - this was your match! They want to save face - they should have figured this out long before now. You are awesome and WE know what you have accomplished!

BTW - it was teonspaleprincess that found a match a while back that LE should have found and she got zero credit. I'll try to find the thread.....

Seriously? That is irritating. I don't remember the case, but that's just ridiculous.

I think the goal should be identifying does, finding out what happened to missing people and solving these cases (there are far too many of them). It's unfortunate that not everyone agrees. It's a shame egos come into play.

 

[Snufamonbobball]

Seriously? That is irritating. I don't remember the case, but that's just ridiculous.

I think the goal should be identifying does, finding out what happened to missing people and solving these cases (there are far too many of them). It's unfortunate that not everyone agrees. It's a shame egos come into play.

Ya know, I believe that Dawn's case manager had made the connection, they had access to the MP report weeks before I did. We all should keep in mind, that not all LE is so diligent with cold MP cases. David Van Norman is her case manager and he is truly dedicated to MP and the UID. I spoke with him for over two hours and I continue to have correspondance with him- that really shows how dedicated he is. I'm no different than any of us here, I don't have "investigator" or "detective" attached to my name and he still felt it could be of value to speak with me. As soon as I asked him about the NamUs report for the Colton UID, he entered her into NamUs. When you search NamUs and you can always tell if it's one of his cases because the report COMPLETE.

LA Cold Case Unit- I've tried to figure out why the "detective" refused the report. Maybe he thought she's already been identified, so why bother- but I still come back to so what if she had been identified. They have other asian females who are unidentified, maybe my report would have been the one to break that open. At the end of the day- it was HIS JOB to take the report. Taxpayers pay HIS SALARY- I would bet if he worked on commision, he would have taken the report. That's what pisses me off.:furious:
Snuf

 

[outofthedark]

Doungboupa Dawn Sihakhom
The victim was located on February 7, 1993 in Sierra Madre, Los Angeles County, California. She was identified in 2009 by DNA as Dawn Sihakhom, missing since February 1, 1993 from Ontario, CA.

 

[Snufamonbobball]

Dawn has a thread over in the UID section.

Her parents made an initial attempt to report her missing in 1993, but were turned away by LE who labeled her a runaway. In July of 2009, her parents were able to file a MP report.

Dawn's body was found 6 days after she disappeared, and only 30 miles from home. She was murdered.

RIP Dawn. I will never forget you.​

 

[believe09]

Snuf, you and Van Norman are a BLESSING to the UID's in this country. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for making this match and fighting through the red tape.

 

[maima]

Just want to add my "Way to go Snuf!!!!!"
Great job. :bow: