LA LA - Lurline DeWitt, 77, Mansfield, 27 Sept 1996

The Doe Network:
Case File 1602DFLA

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1602dfla.html

Lurline H. DeWitt
Missing since September 27, 1996 from Mansfield, Desoto Parish, Louisiana
Classification: Endangered Missing



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Vital Statistics
•Date Of Birth: September 29, 1919
•Age at Time of Disappearance: 77 years old
•Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'6-5'7"; 125-130 lbs.
•Distinguishing Characteristics: Black female. Black, greying hair; brown eyes. Wears glasses.
•Dentals: Upper & lower dentures with 2 gold teeth in the upper plate.



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Circumstances of Disappearance
DeWitt was last seen at her home in Mansfield, Louisiana on September 27, 1996.
Dewitt, a comfortably well-off widow, lived in a quiet, middle-class neighborhood with her son. She apparently opened her door to someone after 9 p.m. Her son discovered she was gone about 1 a.m. and called police. Nothing was missing.
Her son told authorities he went to bed and later discovered the door to the home's carport open and his mother missing.
DeWitt apparently walked out of her home during a heavy thunderstorm.
Prior to her disappearance DeWitt had undergone a checkup at a Mansfield hospital and was kept overnight because of high blood pressure.
Authorities talked to relatives, neighbors - nobody has reported seeing her.
DeWitt's son, who lived with her, and other family members are not suspects.
None of Dewitt's belongings or identification was taken.



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Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:

DeSoto Parish Sheriff's Office
318-872-3956
Email
OR
Mansfield Police Department
318- 872-3956



Source Information:
The Advocate 10/3/96
The Advocate 10/9/96
The Advocate 10/31/96
The Advocate 4/27/98
Desoto Sheriff


http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/d/dewitt_lurline.html

https://www.findthemissing.org/cases/4089/0/
NamUs Profile:
Dental: Available and entered
DNA: initial inquiry underway
Fingerprints: NA

A couple of archived articles dating around 1996, all are pay per view.

Lurline has been missing almost 14 years. Come home soon.

DNA submitted on two DeSoto cold cases
December 19, 2010

MANSFIELD — DeSoto sheriff's and Mansfield police investigators realized during a recent review of cold cases that DNA evidence was not on file with two of them. The oversight has been remedied and DNA soon will be in a national database. And that means the cases could be one step closer to being solved should there be any hits to what's already on file.

"One of the cases is real old and we just didn't have any DNA," said DeSoto sheriff's Lt. Robert Davidson. So within the past month, Davidson and Mansfield police Capt. Gary Hobbs tracked down family members of Lurline Dewitt and Constance Anderson. Finding Dewitt's relatives meant a trip to the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, where one of her two sons is serving a life sentence for homicide.

more at the link
http://www.shreveporttimes.com/arti...190339/DNA-submitted-on-two-DeSoto-cold-cases

Lurline's DNA is changed now at NamUs to:
Status: Sample submitted - Tests complete
https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/4089/166

DeSoto Parish Sheriff's website has 4 missing persons listed, all females.
http://www.dpso.org/missing-persons/
Constance Anderson
Deshanna Gray
Syble Brumley

Lurline Dewitt - Missing Since September 28th, 1996

NO PHOTO AVAILABLE
Date of Birth: 29 September 1919
Race: Black
Sex: Female
Height: 5′ 7″
Weight: Approx 130lbs
Identifying Marks: Upper & lower dentures with 2 gold teeth in the upper plate. Found missing at 1AM by her son. Nothing was missing. This is a Mansfield Police Department case. Case agents are Capt. Gary Hobbs & Lt. Joe Pratt. There is a reward. To report information regarding this case, contact DPSO at (318) 872-3956 or tips@dpso.org.

Lurline has been missing for 18 years.

Bumping for Lurline, as we approach the 24th anniversary of her disappearance...

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

• 
• 

DeWitt, circa 1996

• Missing Since 09/27/1996
• Missing From Mansfield, Louisiana
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Female
• Race Black
• Date of Birth 09/19/1919 (104)
• Age 77 years old
• Height and Weight 5'7, 130 pounds
• 
  
• Medical Conditions DeWitt has high blood pressure and was hospitalized overnight for the condition shortly before her disappearance.
• 
  
• Distinguishing Characteristics African-American female. Gray hair, brown eyes. DeWitt wears eyeglasses. She wears upper and lower dentures, with two gold teeth in the upper plate.

Details of Disappearance​

DeWitt lived with her son on Oxford Road in Mansfield, Louisiana in 1996. She slept on a couch in the front room. Her son last saw her at approximately 9:00 p.m. on September 27, 1996. He discovered that the carport door was open at their residence at 1:00 the following morning and his mother had disappeared. She has never been heard from again. None of her personal belongings or identification was taken with her.

Authorities initially believed that DeWitt walked away from her residence during a heavy thunderstorm on the evening of September 27. Investigators questioned a man who lived nearby as a potential suspect, but he was not involved in her disappearance. All her family members have also been ruled out as potential suspects.

Authorities now believe that DeWitt may have opened the door to her home during the night she vanished and allowed unidentified assailant(s) access to her residence. Investigators theorize that DeWitt was possibly abducted by person(s) who prey on the elderly and believed she would be carrying a large amount of cash. Her case remains unsolved and foul play is suspected.

Investigating Agency​

• Mansfield Police Department 318-872-0520

Source Information​

• The Shreveport Times
• The Advocate
• The Doe Network
• DeSoto Parish Sheriff's Office
• Louisiana Repository for Unidentified & Missing People

Updated 5 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated January 21, 2011; details of disappearance updated.