Found Deceased FL - Nicki Virginia Lee Elkins, 16, Miami, Feb 14, 1981

[Murkywaters]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Miss Elkins was 16 years old and visiting a family member in Miami. They got into an argument and she packed a suitcase and left the house on foot. She stated that she was going to visit her boyfriend (an unknown male). The suitcase she carried may have been brown in color, with a photo album inside. Miss Elkins may have traveled to Naples, Florida approximately a week prior to visiting Miami.

 

[Murkywaters]

Demographics
Missing Age: 16 Years
Current Age: 55 Years
First Name: Nicki
Middle Name: Virginia Lee
Last Name: Elkins
Nickname/Alias: Nicci, Nikki, Nichol Michele Emens

Sex: Female
Height: 5' 3" - 5' 5" (63 - 65 Inches)
Weight: 170 - 180 lbs
Race / Ethnicity: White / Caucasian

Circumstances
Date of Last Contact: February 14, 1981
NamUs Case Created: April 10, 2020
Last Known Location Map
Location: Miami, Florida 33144
County: Miami-Dade County
Circumstances of Disappearance: Miss Elkins was 16 years old and visiting a family member in Miami. They got into an argument and she packed a suitcase and left the house on foot. She stated that she was going to visit her boyfriend (an unknown male). The suitcase she carried may have been brown in color, with a photo album inside. Miss Elkins may have traveled to Naples, Florida approximately a week prior to visiting Miami.

Physical Description
Hair Color: Blond/Strawberry
Head Hair Description: shoulder-length
Left Eye Color: Blue
Right Eye Color: Blue

Distinctive Physical Features
Piercing: Both ears pierced
Tattoo: Letter "N" on left thumb

Clothing and Accessories
Clothing: Unknown clothing

 

[chaddylex]

Weight and Eye Color are off - but look at this UID. She was found in Glades Florida on March 9, 1981, less than a month from when Nicki was last seen.

What got me - both Nicki and the UID have an "N" tattoo on their thumbs. (It says the tattoo is on Niki's left thumb and the UID has one on her right thumb.) Too many close characteristics for me not to turn in. The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

 

[Murkywaters]

Weight and Eye Color are off - but look at this UID. She was found in Glades Florida on March 9, 1981, less than a month from when Nicki was last seen.

What got me - both Nicki and the UID have an "N" tattoo on their thumbs. (It says the tattoo is on Niki's left thumb and the UID has one on her right thumb.) Too many close characteristics for me not to turn in. The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Definitely turn it in! I think this probably is a match, Nicki was only added to NamUs a few days ago.

 

[chaddylex]

Definitely turn it in! I think this probably is a match, Nicki was only added to NamUs a few days ago.

I sent an email to Carrie Sutherland at NamUs. The 1980's UID/missing cases are what intrigues me. I hope I hear back from her. I looked on both the UID's and Niki's NamUs profile to see if they had email contacts other than Carrie, and they do not, just phone numbers. I feel kind of weird calling.
Thanks for posting Niki's profile.

 

[PayrollNerd]

Those canals are all connected and she could have floated in from anywhere. However, this was "winter" in FL which means very little rain. I'm thinking she wasn't far away from where she entered the water. It's very possible she hitched a ride with an agriculture truck, from Miami, north up Hwy 27 and into the Lake Okeechobee area.

20 cm medium redish hair is about 7-8" in length. The UID drawings have darker hair than the photos but they could be old.

I wonder why she was wearing men's jeans (Blue jeans with "J.C. Penny" label, size 32 x 31). Women's jeans are not generally labeled by width/length. Were they hers or did someone put them on her?

 

[chaddylex]

Those canals are all connected and she could have floated in from anywhere. However, this was "winter" in FL which means very little rain. I'm thinking she wasn't far away from where she entered the water. It's very possible she hitched a ride with an agriculture truck, from Miami, north up Hwy 27 and into the Lake Okeechobee area.

20 cm medium redish hair is about 7-8" in length. The UID drawings have darker hair than the photos but they could be old.

I wonder why she was wearing men's jeans (Blue jeans with "J.C. Penny" label, size 32 x 31). Women's jeans are not generally labeled by width/length. Were they hers or did someone put them on her?


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I thought the same thing about the hair color. what got me was the N tattoo on her thumb (even though it lists it's on Nicki's left and the UID's right) I also sent a text to the Glade County Sheriff's dept. They have the UID listed on their website as a cold case. I attached a read receipt to my email and it was already read... I hope I hear something back but I doubt I will. I have turned in maybe possible matches with getting responses back half the time.

 

[chaddylex]

So I just read on a Facebook page that I follow: (Steinberg's Facial Identification Catalogs) that the UID I turned in last week as a possible match to Nicki is being looked into. They are waiting for a DNA confirmation. I of course don't know if I was the one who first turned it in or not. The Glade County Sheriff's dept read my email but never responded, along with Carrie Sutherland at NamUs.

 

[JudgeJoe]

So I just read on a Facebook page that I follow: (Steinberg's Facial Identification Catalogs) that the UID I turned in last week as a possible match to Nicki is being looked into. They are waiting for a DNA confirmation. I of course don't know if I was the one who first turned it in or not. The Glade County Sheriff's dept read my email but never responded, along with Carrie Sutherland at NamUs.

That is truly exciting! Your find seemed like such a close resemblance. Glad they are taking that seriously. Fingers crossed!

ETA: Thank you for sharing an AWESOME catalog to follow- most interesting!

Samantha Steinberg is a forensic artist from Miami. She created a special catalog to identify facial characteristics of different racial & ethnic features because Miami is so diverse & witnesses would describe a perp as “Honduran” or “Puerto Rican” etc., and she had to be able to sketch subtle differences. What an absolutely fascinating career- and contribution to justice.
Steinberg's Facial Identification Catalogs

SamanthaSteinberg.com

 

[Fuuro]

The eye color discrepancy could be explained by the fact that the lady found in Glades County had decomposed somewhat before her body was discovered. She had spent at least 24 hours lying face down in a body of water.

 

[Murkywaters]

Nicki has been added to The Charley Project

Nicki Virginia Lee Elkins – The Charley Project

• Missing Since 02/14/1981
• Missing From Miami, Florida
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Female
• Race White
• Date of Birth 05/27/1964 (56)
• Age 16 years old
• Height and Weight 5'3 - 5'8, 170 - 180 pounds
• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Blonde hair, blue eyes. Nikki has a tattoo of the letter N on her left thumb, and her ears are pierced. She may spell her first name "Nicci" or "Nikki" and may use the name Nichol Michelle Emens.

Details of Disappearance
Nikki was last seen in Miami, Florida on February 14, 1981. She had traveled from Virginia to Florida to visit relatives in Miami, and may have visited Naples, Florida before her arrival. She was last seen in the 8300 block of southwest 5th Street.

On the day of Nikki's disappearance, she was visiting a relative. They got into an argument and she packed a suitcase (possibly brown in color, and containing a photo album) and left on foot, saying she was going to visit her boyfriend. She has never been heard from again. Foul play is suspected in Nikki's case.

 

[chaddylex]

Still waiting on Nikki to be ruled out as Glades County Jane Doe. I asked Samantha Steinberg a few weeks back (who did the recon of Glade County Jane Doe) if she has heard anything about the possible match and she said the labs were closed for awhile in FL due to Covid. Hopefully we hear something soon!

 

[Earth]

I'm going to say it because I'm certain it's what everyone is thinking. I suspect Christopher Wilder.

 

[PayrollNerd]

What is the significance of the alias: Nichol Michele Emens?
Why the delay in reporting her missing? Could she have been in Naples for a few months before she vanished?
Who reported her missing two months later? The family member from Miami?

Nicki Virginia Lee Elkins

Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance

Missing Since: February 14, 1981
Missing From: Miami, Miami-Dade County, Florida
Classification: Endangered Missing
Date Of Birth: circa, 1965
Age: 16 years old
Height and Weight: 5’4″ and 175 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian Female, Blonde hair, Blue eyes, Nicki has the letter “N” tattooed on her left thumb and both her ears are pierced, her hair was approximately shoulder length at the time of her disappearance, she might use the names “Nicci”, “Nikki”, and or Nichol Michele Emens
Details of Disappearance

Nicki was last seen in Miami, Florida on February 14th 1981. She left the home of a family member following an argument. She allegedly packed a suitcase before leaving the house on foot. She stated she was going to visit an unknown male who was her boyfriend at the time. She never returned and hasn’t been seen or heard from since.

She may be carrying a brown suitcase with a photo album inside. She might have traveled to Naples, Florida a week before she visited Miami. Her case remains unsolved and very limited information is available about the case. She wasn’t reported missing until April 16th 1981, two months after her original disappearance.

 

[chaddylex]

Sooo... the Glades County NamUs Profile is currently not accessible. I noticed it disappeared off of my UID tracked cases list on NamUs this morning (I look daily to see if any are modified) and Nikki's NamUs profile was modified yesterday, but it's still accessible. So curious to hear if this is a match!

 

[PayrollNerd]

Sooo... the Glades County NamUs Profile is currently not accessible. I noticed it disappeared off of my UID tracked cases list on NamUs this morning (I look daily to see if any are modified) and Nikki's NamUs profile was modified yesterday, but it's still accessible. So curious to hear if this is a match!

Fingers crossed for a positive match!!

I really think that N tattoo on the finger is so unique that it could be the key to solving the mystery here. Good catch and thank you for your perseverance.

 

[chaddylex]

and...... Nikki Elkins NamUs profile has been removed from NamUs also!!!

 

[JudgeJoe]

Looking forward to the final chapter in this life story; is it her?! Or who?

 

[ChatteringBirds]

If this is a match, after several decades, there's hope for so many other cases, too.

 

[chaddylex]

If this is a match, after several decades, there's hope for so many other cases, too.

Yes!! So many missing people out there that aren’t entered into NamUs and other missing people that were never reported missing. It’s so sad.