Identified! AR- West Memphis -"Laundry Lady" WhtFem 643UFAR, 45-60, Sep'87 No Name Available

[my_tee_mouse]

Okay, I'll give ya'll addresses so you can google map it yourselves, as the links won't transfer:

3900 Petro Drive...Petro Truck Stop
1100 Martin Luther King Boulevard...Pilot Truck Stop
800 Martin Luther King Boulevard...Pilot Truck Stop
1091 East Broadway...20th Century Motel
2298 East Broadway...Nic Nac

The Pilot at 1100 MLKB looks closest to the "main area" of the service road to my way of thinking.

plug in the addys and see what ya'll think.

 

[Danaya]

Sounds like she may have led a transient lifestyle and could be one of the many missing women (hopefuly!). I can't wait to see if this turns out to be the correct match.

 

[nomad]

What a bleak, lonely, depressing, desolate time and place to die. After looking at the maps I really get the impression she was destitute.
I've been following along here for a few nights, hoping to see this lady's identity revealed. Someone at the nic nac would have known something about her but whoever that would be is probably long gone. I'm going to reread this thread, particularly the part about the truck driver. You guys are doing a great job here!

 

[nomad]

It sounds like the trucker could be the one who might knows the most. They travelled for 3 1/2 hours from nashville to w.memphis. She might have shared whatever was on her mind. I would ask him how they hooked up in nashville, and what prompted him to drop her off in w. memphis.
Sorry~ I have not figured out how I might help find these answers....

 

[pinkhistorybuff]

I'd be willing to drive over and check out the police files if someone would be willing to call WMPD to see if they have them.

Calling places makes me nervous - I don't know why. lol.

But I have spent many days at WMPD photographing police reports before, and I'm friendly with a girl that works there.

 

[believe09]

I bow to the collective greatness of all of you...you are so amazing.

 

[BethInAK]

Okay check this out!!!!!!!!

Go to google maps and search 2298 Broadway E West Memphis, AR

You'll find a street view of a Nic Nac Coin laundry attached to a Nic Nac Bar!

Great Sleuthing - I thought it might be a suds and duds place

 

[Fairy1]

Gosh these Google maps are AMAZING! Thank you pinkhistorybuff! I'm not very good at navigating, but I did notice a few things regarding the address you posted. I don't know how to figure out the distance between the Nic-Nac bar and laundry and the North Service Rd where LL was hit, but it seems a ways. Did ya'll notice the "for rent" trailer park next to the Nic-Nac? Maybe someone there may remember LL????

Looking at the North Service Rd ramps, it seems she could have been coming from or going anywhere! I notice there were railroad tracks nearby as well.

PHB - I sure hope you have a chance to go look at the files on this case. I truly feel there may be a clue there that we need. How many discrepancies have we seen here and how long were we looking at this case before the truck driver/Mary/Phoenix info came to light? Honestly, they should post AS MUCH info as they possibly can on these cases - especially if they KNOW foul play was not involved!

 

[amethyst]

Seems that the Nic-Nac is about 5 miles away from the north service road.

 

[Julessleuther]

That is far! Would she really have walked 5 miles that night? It was nighttime that she was hit, correct? Do we know tox screen? Did she have alcohol in her system? Maybe she got a ride from someone from the Nic Nac to where she was found? I REALLY would like to know more about the people who hit her---could she possibly have ridden with them, they had a disagreement and booted her out and then ran her over? I wonder if they had the rest of her "stuff"? Just thinking out loud here, it seems really odd that she would have walked that far. How certain are we that she was at the Nic Nac? What condition were her shoes in, was she used to walking alot and had worn down the tread on the shoes?

Seems that the Nic-Nac is about 5 miles away from the north service road.

 

[Fairy1]

Thanks for the distance answer amethyst! It does seem to be too far to walk, but I suppose she could have gotten a ride - at least part of the way.

Now then, I took a little "stroll" down E. Broadway from about the 700 block just to see what else was around. Have to say, it sure looks like West Memphis has seen better days! But I digress....

At 2188 E. Broadway there is what appears to be an old building that may have been some type of institution or PD maybe? Try as I might, I could not read the sign well enough to see what it says! And, I went on several websites relating to West Memphis and Crittenden County - thinking this may be an historical site nowadays. No luck there either. My thinking here was maybe she had just been released from jail or some type of rehab and the Nic Nac was just a bit down the street.

There is another building past the Nic Nac - at 2572 - that looks sort of "institutional" as well, but again, it appears to be shut down now.

Anyhoo, maybe believe09 is on the right track with the fingerprints being on record idea. If what the truck driver said was true and he had given her a ride a week before, WHERE was she and what in tarnation was she doing all the days in between? I imagine that even in better times, West Memphis was no hopping metropolis and certainly not a major tourist destination.

Again, IF she was last seen leaving the Nic Nac, that trailer park next door appears to still be populated and if so, perhaps someone there may remember her?

 

[my_tee_mouse]

That is far! Would she really have walked 5 miles that night? It was nighttime that she was hit, correct? Do we know tox screen? Did she have alcohol in her system? Maybe she got a ride from someone from the Nic Nac to where she was found? I REALLY would like to know more about the people who hit her---could she possibly have ridden with them, they had a disagreement and booted her out and then ran her over? I wonder if they had the rest of her "stuff"? Just thinking out loud here, it seems really odd that she would have walked that far. How certain are we that she was at the Nic Nac? What condition were her shoes in, was she used to walking alot and had worn down the tread on the shoes?

Thinking "out loud" here:

IF she was doing her laundry at the Nic Nac and decided to go next door for a drink, she probably would not want to leave her detergent, etc. in the laundry, so she took it with her, say. And IF someone offered her a ride for ... whatever... she'd still probably drag her stuff with her to make sure it wasn't stolen. So she gets a ride with someone and thinks they are coming right back so she can get her clothes, but something happens and she winds up on that dark road...and did we not find out at some point that this happened in the wee hours of the morning (or am I getting this confused with another situation where someone was struck and killed)?

I don't know, but that section of road is just one hella place to be walking along at any hour in the dark, much less in the wee hours, for any reason.

The truck driver says he dropped her off a week before. She very well could have gotten another ride elsewhere and then came back to West Memphis, of course, but otherwise, she'd HAVE to be staying somewhere, and that 20th Century Motel not far from the Nic Nac does have weekly rentals, IIRC.

Sorry...just throwing stuff out there hoping someone will see something that makes a huge lightbult go off...because this whole thing just doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

We definitely need the police report.

 

[Julessleuther]

Ok, I google earthed the route from the Nic Nac to the approx area where she was hit--there are several hotels along her walking route, and google earth shows the distance is about approx 2.2 miles. Do we EXACTLY where she was hit? Depending on where she was, she could have been heading to one of three motels; a Motel 6, Relax Inn/Best Value Inn, or Express Inn further west (?) on the frontage road. I am not certain, but it appears that the truck stop is exactly at the end of Ingram Blvd, which is the route she would have taken from the Nic Nac to the northern frontage road. So, conceively, she may have been very near to the truck stop. I wonder if the people who hit her saw her standing/walking before they hit her? Is there any possibility that she had already been hit by someone else, was lying there, and then hit again? There does not appear to be many street lights on that frontage road, it must have been so dark out there.

 

[Fairy1]

Ok, I google earthed the route from the Nic Nac to the approx area where she was hit--there are several hotels along her walking route, and google earth shows the distance is about approx 2.2 miles. Do we EXACTLY where she was hit? Depending on where she was, she could have been heading to one of three motels; a Motel 6, Relax Inn/Best Value Inn, or Express Inn further west (?) on the frontage road. I am not certain, but it appears that the truck stop is exactly at the end of Ingram Blvd, which is the route she would have taken from the Nic Nac to the northern frontage road. So, conceively, she may have been very near to the truck stop. I wonder if the people who hit her saw her standing/walking before they hit her? Is there any possibility that she had already been hit by someone else, was lying there, and then hit again? There does not appear to be many street lights on that frontage road, it must have been so dark out there.

Hiya Jules! No - I can't find anything that says exactly where she was hit/found. I'm thinking the rest of her belongings were somewhere in that town and because her death didn't get any press, no one was able to put it all together at the time. Still, if she was there for a week, she had to have spoken to someone and told them honestly who she was! I don't believe she was Mary from Phoenix!

 

[Julessleuther]

I agree, and we know she did not have a car, so she had to have her stuff somewhere. I do not know how to go about this, but could we send a letter to the local hotels/motels and ask if they have any unclaimed stuff from that time period? Post flyers at the truck stops, or has too much time passed?

Hiya Jules! No - I can't find anything that says exactly where she was hit/found. I'm thinking the rest of her belongings were somewhere in that town and because her death didn't get any press, no one was able to put it all together at the time. Still, if she was there for a week, she had to have spoken to someone and told them honestly who she was! I don't believe she was Mary from Phoenix!

 

[Fairy1]

I agree, and we know she did not have a car, so she had to have her stuff somewhere. I do not know how to go about this, but could we send a letter to the local hotels/motels and ask if they have any unclaimed stuff from that time period? Post flyers at the truck stops, or has too much time passed?

I don't either. If she had a room in the truck stop area and her belongings were found later, I doubt very much they would have given 2 thoughts about it. Then again, if she was staying in that area, why would she have gone all the way to the Nic Nac to do her laundry? There would have been a laundry somewhere nearby. IDK! It just doesn't make any sense! It doesn't make any sense for her to have things for doing laundry - and not have any laundry with her! For now, I'm going to take the Nic Nac sighting with a grain of salt and assume that whatever she was doing was much closer to where she was hit. If we can pinpoint that location, we can look in that area for clues. Thoughts?

 

[Fairy1]

One more thought - there is a group called 18 Wheel Angels - which is associated with Project Jason. It's a group of truck drivers who look for and distribute posters of missing persons. Link:


http://www.projectjason.org/18wheel.shtml


These may just be the guys to help with this case! I know it's been a looooooong time, but it's worth a try!

 

[nomad]

Hi all~ I've checked the topix thread Amethyst started, as far as a more exact location goes, one poster's comment I snipped, I hope it's helpful:

"the one girl that they found over the bypast on seven street behind a colvert she was never named and that was before they made a road going out to marion, but she was not from west memphis and the other lady was, I thought that may clear up anything, or may help you."

The other lady was not related to this case.

 

[nomad]

I received a response to my Topix post. The poster said that she was struck by a truck with some guys coming home from a bar. It happened in the early hours of the day. She had last been seen leaving a bar called the Nic Nac on Broadway. The poster said that her head was run over by the truck and that she wore dentures because they were found at the scene. The poster also said that the guy was caught and did go to jail but couldn't remember his name and also said the guy has a brother who lived in lakeshore.

Do you know what? I'm detecting the beginning of confusion- I think there are two different events being talked about at topix. One person spoke of a woman that left the nic nac with someone who beat her and then ran her over. She was named, and it was a murder. It's kinda like the two stories are merging.
They also described our laundry lady, who was found but never named, by 7th street, which by the way crosses with both service roads. I don't mean to be confusing anything, but maybe they were talking about the other lady leaving the nic nac, not ours.
Sorry, look at the time....thats my excuse...nomad :waitasec:

 

[my_tee_mouse]

Do you know what? I'm detecting the beginning of confusion- I think there are two different events being talked about at topix. One person spoke of a woman that left the nic nac with someone who beat her and then ran her over. She was named, and it was a murder. It's kinda like the two stories are merging.
They also described our laundry lady, who was found but never named, by 7th street, which by the way crosses with both service roads. I don't mean to be confusing anything, but maybe they were talking about the other lady leaving the nic nac, not ours.
Sorry, look at the time....thats my excuse...nomad :waitasec:

At least they mentioned 7th street. That's more info than we had before. That narrows down the area a good bit. This was the stretch I figured she was on. Not sure about the "road going out to Marion" part. I guess he means this is before the service road was extended or perhaps 7th was later extended, although that would be a long way around to get to Marion.