TN TN - Nashville, Harpeth River, "Sherry", NativeFem 14-17, UP8494, Mar'76

[EmilyHTX]

Quick tidbit that I'm looking into...In February 1976, six girls escaped from the Indiana Girls' School (Juvenile Detention Center in Marion County, IN). One was found a few hours later at a movie theater in Speedway, IN and brought back to the facility. She told authorities that they hitched a ride in a van after their escape. They were all between 15-17 years old at the time and there's only one that I can't find any info on. The others were all married or accounted for within a few years of their "jailbreak".

The 5 were:
Sherry, 15 (New Castle, IN) - Married in 1980
Christine, 16 (Gary, IN) - Found 2 weeks later
Rebecca, 17 (Loogootee, IN) - Married in 1979
Karen, 15 (Kewanna, IN) - Married in 1977
Vicki, 15 (Indianapolis, IN) *The only one unaccounted for*

It all seems very convenient as far as names, timing, ages, etc. What if Vicki and one of the others continued their trek from Indiana to Tennessee and Vicki could be this JD? It's possible that the guy got their names mixed up maybe?

 

[EmilyHTX]

[Deleted Duplicate Post] Oops!

 

[EmilyHTX]

Another possibility that came up looking through old newspapers...
The Minneapolis Star and Star Tribune both ran personal ads in November 1975 that read as follows:
"KRIS, SUE, JILL OR ALLISON
Anyone knowing their whereabouts please see messages below from parents or call 425-4525
JILL - We love you and miss you. We want you home. Please Call. Dad, Mom & Family
SUE M. - We miss you & love you. Please come home. Your family.
KRIS - We love you. Please come home or call.
ALLISON - We love you and want you to come home. Please call. Your family."

I tried to figure out who these girls were, but it's been tricky. I looked for schools that had students in the same (or adjacent) grades by those names. Best I came up with was Southwest HS in Minneapolis, Owatonna HS in Owatonna, and Mounds View HS in Arden Hills having sophomore or junior students with those names. The applicable area codes that could go with the phone number listed link back to either Maple Grove, Wannaska, Fulda, Cottage Grove or Minneapolis. I don't know if they all came home, if some of them returned, or if their families just assumed they'd gone off to start new lives somewhere.

 

[EmilyHTX]

This is a 1974-1975 Freshman from Minneapolis with only her first initial "V" and last name below the photo. I can't find anything on her other than a birth record and this one yearbook photo (the school doesn't have available yearbooks from '76-'79). No marriage records, no mentions of her in newspapers or Google hits. Any suggestions on where to go from here?

 

[victoriarobinson642]

I do see some resemblance between the yearbook photo and the reconstruction.

 

[EmilyHTX]

I've found records on both of her brothers and parents, but none for her beyond a birth record and that photo. Her brothers and mom still live in MN, but her dad passed away in Texas in 2011. The more I look and find nothing, the more it looks like she might actually be a potential match.

I left a message with Nashville Metro's Cold Case Unit and, hopefully, they'll call me back in the near future so I can share what info I have. Contact info for brothers and mom, birth record and photos are all I can offer so far, but I hope it helps.

 

[Alleykins]

I've found records on both of her brothers and parents, but none for her beyond a birth record and that photo. Her brothers and mom still live in MN, but her dad passed away in Texas in 2011. The more I look and find nothing, the more it looks like she might actually be a potential match.

I left a message with Nashville Metro's Cold Case Unit and, hopefully, they'll call me back in the near future so I can share what info I have. Contact info for brothers and mom, birth record and photos are all I can offer so far, but I hope it helps.

Good luck, hope something comes from this.

 

[EmilyHTX]

Okay, so I finally tracked down a good source on "V" and found out that she's alive and well. On another note, going back through all the MN 74-75 yearbooks and came across this young lady. She was 16 in 1975, and it looks like her ear lobes fold up slightly like JD's (in the postmortem pics). Left is 1974-1975 school year, right is 1973-1974 school year. Having a difficult time finding any information on her at all beyond these two pictures, but I'm working on it.

 

[EmilyHTX]

I've been slowly working my way through every available yearbook from Minnesota for 1973-1976 (some have Elementary grades so I've gone back a little further for some) to look for any girl who might be this Jane. While a few shared a lot of physical similarities, they've all been ruled out thus far.

It makes me a little crazy that some schools have 1960s era yearbooks then a large gap until the 1980s. I'm keeping track of those, though, and will go back and comb through local records for the area if need be, once I've gone through the yearbooks.

 

[weegee]

If those two guys were lying or mis remembered any part of those stories, all the hard work searching could be in vain. She could be from anywhere.

 

[EmilyHTX]

If those two guys were lying or mis remembered any part of those stories, all the hard work searching could be in vain. She could be from anywhere.

I have that same thought in the back of my mind as I slowly work through each yearbook. My plan is to finish Minnesota yearbooks (I've already gone through every newspaper in MN that mentioned a missing or runaway girl, descriptions that were close to hers, etc.) then work my way through states south of MN toward TN. I have a feeling that, if she is American Indian, she may have lived near areas with higher populations of American Indians. My main concern is that she's actually Hispanic and the American Indian angle will turn out to be a never-ending rabbit hole.

Between newspaper archives, Ancestry and county court records, I'm hoping that something will come of it eventually.

 

[weegee]

I have that same thought in the back of my mind as I slowly work through each yearbook. My plan is to finish Minnesota yearbooks (I've already gone through every newspaper in MN that mentioned a missing or runaway girl, descriptions that were close to hers, etc.) then work my way through states south of MN toward TN. I have a feeling that, if she is American Indian, she may have lived near areas with higher populations of American Indians. My main concern is that she's actually Hispanic and the American Indian angle will turn out to be a never-ending rabbit hole.

Between newspaper archives, Ancestry and county court records, I'm hoping that something will come of it eventually.

You’re doing an amazing job, I’ll keep my fingers crossed you find something. Definitely something off about those two guy.

 

[Eman317]

NCMEC's reconstruction of her looks almost identical to a girl that I went to school with that was either a freshmen or sophomore back when I was a senior. This was back in 2009-2010 though so theres no way it could be her.

 

[Melt71]

...... I have a feeling that, if she is American Indian, she may have lived near areas with higher populations of American Indians.......

If she was NA then she could also have been a Sixties Scoop baby from Canada adopted to the US (similar to the adoptees in the Finding Cleo podcast).

 

[EmilyHTX]

Random pop-in time...

Jane Ellen Wakefield disappeared from Iowa City, Iowa in September 1975. She has light brown or dirty blonde hair (judging by the picture on NamUs and Iowa MP Clearinghouse) and wore glasses. She was 26 at the time, but I wondered if she could have crossed paths with Sherry Doe at some point and the two became travel companions.
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Then there's Colleen Vanita Simpson who disappeared from Bedford, Iowa just a month later in October 1975. Colleen was 14, looks to have possible Native or Hispanic background. The thing that got me was the photo of her that shows her left incisor. On Doe Network, 37UFTN is noted as having an "oddly positioned" left "fang tooth". Hair and eye color match up, but height and weight are different. Can't tell if Colleen had a mole near her left eye from the photo on NamUs.
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

 

[Susikatze]

And Hispanics do have lots of Native blood, with varying amounts depending on heritage. E.g. Puerto Ricans have about 10-20% Native ancestry, while e.g. Colombians have up to 80-90%. Mexicans are kind of in the middle and fairly diverse. Makes sense if you know their (sadly bloody) history and also there are differences between male and female lineages (male being more often European Spanish and female being Native).

Gedmatch and most other ancestry estimates do not really differentiate between the very very diverse Native groups (even within North America they are plenty), probably because their databases do not have enough Native Americans as reference basis. They tend to lump all Native genes together as Amerindian.

I have that same thought in the back of my mind as I slowly work through each yearbook. My plan is to finish Minnesota yearbooks (I've already gone through every newspaper in MN that mentioned a missing or runaway girl, descriptions that were close to hers, etc.) then work my way through states south of MN toward TN. I have a feeling that, if she is American Indian, she may have lived near areas with higher populations of American Indians. My main concern is that she's actually Hispanic and the American Indian angle will turn out to be a never-ending rabbit hole.

Between newspaper archives, Ancestry and county court records, I'm hoping that something will come of it eventually.

 

[RookieInvestigator]

Her face is very clear in the post-mortem photo. It's surprising she isn't identified yet.

 

[John/Jane Doe]

Check this out

37UFTN

Janet Ann Kramer – The Charley Project

What is the possibility that Janet is Jane Doe's partner?

 

[RookieInvestigator]

Check this out

37UFTN

Janet Ann Kramer – The Charley Project

What is the possibility that Janet is Jane Doe's partner?

I read about her recently, but never considered her as a friend of this Jane Doe. I thought the friend was from Haines City, FL. Or is that where the, she went to "visit family" part comes in. I also believe the Jane Doe's friend had a son. Janet was reported missing in 1971, and the UID was killed in 1976. Do you think Janet moved around for a few years?

Its possibly the friend. If you can determine what facility she was at and where it was located that would help. Then records can be checked to see if this UID was at that facility.

 

[CastlesBurning]

Perhaps this will help Sherry's case...

MN: Nation's first office on missing Native people