Hi! I just reached out to the Sheriff of Orange County and the Chief Medical Examiner with information regarding this case. Below I copy-pasted what I wrote (with redacted personal info lol). If there is any way for any of you to play off of this information.
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Dear Mr. Gibbs and Captain Thorne,
Hello, I hope this email finds you well. I am writing regarding a Jane Doe case (often referred to as “New Hope Jane Doe” or “Hillsborough Jane Doe) that was uncovered on Sept. 19, 1990. It is seemingly filed as #90-814 within the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and #90-12532 within the Orange County Sheriff's Department.
I have been conducting independent research and will attach my findings below.
One of the most distinctive details of this case, as you know, is the pink bunny sweatshirt she was wearing. I was able to find a 1985 “Younkers” advertisement with the same bunnies. Here is an imgur link containing it (
imgur.com ) and I will attach a file with the image as well. Younkers stores were mainly located in Idaho but also appeared in nearby states.
Furthermore, the artist behind this sweater could be Jim Benton. He is infamous for his “Happy Bunny” characters. In the early 1980s, he printed apparel with similar iconography. Here are multiple links containing his early work that is strikingly adjacent to the Doe’s sweater (
Sportsweats Jim Benton Love Duck Funny Humor Pinback Button #30937 • $11.40 ,
Vintage 1983 Jim Benton Dog Sweatshirt! Really... - Depop ) Again, I will attach files as well. Jim Benton would seemingly operate under “Sportsweats” and not “Sportswear”. During this time he was based out of Michigan and his work mainly circulated in that area. Being said, the Jane Doe could have bought the sweater secondhand or gotten it from someone else.
I also want to state, with my knowledge as a printmaker and cartoonist, that it it highly likely he would only make one or a few versions of specific designs. The process of printmaking is so taxing and cartoonists often like to practice different designs to create new characters or put them in different poses. Jim Benton was also early in his career during the time he would create these style characters. It was more than likely that he did not have the resources to mass produce anything. Altogether, it really could be worth reaching out to him. If I have the time, I will try and get in contact to ask if this is his work.
Next, I was able to find information on the “Sportswear” tag on that sweater. It seemed to be in circulation from the 1960s to the 1990s. I have a background in curation of vintage clothing and know that you can locate an RN # on some articles of clothing and input it into the FTC database to find the company that the article is registered to. This RN # would appear on the tag. In my research on Sportswear, another curator found that a Sportswear item was registered to Granite Knitwear inc. AKA Calcru (via inputting the RN # into the FTC database)— which is a company based out of Granite Quarry, North Carolina. Here is a link with a user alleging this information (
Sportswear ).
Thank you so much for your service working on this case and others. I really mean that. Also, I am open to having more conversations about my findings or any information I can give you. I have extensive knowledge on the business/creation of apparel and accessories because of my career. Due to limited evidence, that could be what ties this case together. If there is any way I can help, I am here. I hope some semblance of justice can be found for this young woman.
All the best,