MI MI - Highland Park, Blk/possMixedFem 35-50, UP9443, In burned abandoned house, Oct'11

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HIGHLAND PARK, Mich., Oct. 17 (UPI) -- Highland Park, Mich., investigators are working to identify human remains discovered during a fire at an abandoned house.

Firefighters battling a blaze at the two-story abandoned house last month were cutting through the ceiling when human remains fell from the attic

...

"When my partner and I went to the scene, we thought the bones were too small to be an adult," said Highland Park Detective Paul Thomas. "That was the impression we got but that's just speculation. We just don't know for sure and we won't until the tests are done."

...

A state forensic anthropologist is scheduled to review the bones, but until then, the age, race and cause of death will likely remain unknown, Thomas said.

Public records show the house was last occupied in 2004.

Anne Stanford, who lives close to the abandoned house, said the bones have likely been there for more than a year.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2011...-house-fire/UPI-59071318880328/#ixzz1b4fuazYt
 
The size of the bones and clothing — Jordache jeans and shoes — suggest the deceased might have been a child.

...

"Right now, there's no way to know for sure if this was a child, a male or female," said Highland Park Mayor Hubert Yopp, who served as a homicide investigator in the city for 31 years. "The skull was small, but the size of the skull isn't something you can rely on."

...

From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20111017...ered-during-Highland-Park-blaze#ixzz1b6xYVEzN
 
Looking for kids aged 5-16 missing from the Detroit area after 1978 (when Jordache began selling jeans), who are listed as wearing jeans (either Jordache, or unspecified brand) when they disappeared.

I came up with three. None specified Jordache - just indicated "blue jeans", or "acid washed jeans".

Alishia Dachone Miller
miller_alishia.jpg

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/m/miller_alishia.html

Brian Grocki
grocki_brian.jpg

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/g/grocki_brian.html

Coral Pearl Hall
hall_coral.jpg

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/h/hall_coral.html
 
In the 1990s, this strategy appeared to have backfired, and Jordache products slid in popularity. The company's jeans "lost their cachet, appealing mainly to inner-city youths and blue-collar workers and typically selling at discount stores.

Which would makes sense they would be popular in Detroit in the 90's. Of the 3 missing cases above...Alishia's last know location to this house is less than 10 miles. Brian from Trenton is over 30 miles away, and Coral was from Flint which is an hour away.
 
Has anyone looked up the records to see who owned or lived in this house prior to 2004? Did anyone find the cause of the fire?
 
Carl,

I can't believe you didn't list Aundria Bowman...http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/b/bowman_aundria.html

She went missing from Holland MI in 1989. Holland is almost a 3 hour drive from Detroit, but it says that Aundria went missing from a group home. She could have hitchiked, been kidnapped.... I just wanted to put her out there..
 
Carl,

I can't believe you didn't list Aundria Bowman...http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/b/bowman_aundria.html

She went missing from Holland MI in 1989. Holland is almost a 3 hour drive from Detroit, but it says that Aundria went missing from a group home. She could have hitchiked, been kidnapped.... I just wanted to put her out there..

There were several others from other parts of Michigan, but I was only focusing on MP's from the Detroit area who were wearing jeans when they disappeared. Aundria could be a good possibility though.

Aundria's birth mother now lives in Hemet CA, and I met with her a couple of weeks ago. I'll mention this to her the next time I talk to her.
 
There were several others from other parts of Michigan, but I was only focusing on MP's from the Detroit area who were wearing jeans when they disappeared. Aundria could be a good possibility though.

Aundria's birth mother now lives in Hemet CA, and I met with her a couple of weeks ago. I'll mention this to her the next time I talk to her.

I knew you were in contact with Aundria's birth month since we all thought she could have been the Racine Jane Doe.

Aundria is a year older than me. I remember wearing jordache jeans in the 80's I think more so when I was in elementary school. (early 80's) I remember being excited because I got a pair for Christmas... Some girls can be so materialistic... anyhow, you got to wonder who this child is?
 
I remember wearing Jordache jeans in the early 90's...but I also remember when the market was oversaturated with them and their quality seemed to drop not long after that. They were still around but it was not as cool to wear them anymore...
 
I remember wearing Jordache jeans in the early 90's...but I also remember when the market was oversaturated with them and their quality seemed to drop not long after that. They were still around but it was not as cool to wear them anymore...

I still remember the Brooke Shields commercials - "Nobody gets between me and my Jordache Jeans" :)

ETA: :doh: Oops, I got the wrong brand. It was a Calvin Klein commercial. "You want to know what comes between me and my Calvins? - Nothing."
 
Although Jordache was a fashionable brand in the late 70's-early 80's (about '79-'83 ish), they are now widely available at discount prices-- at Walmart etc. I am guessing that our Jane Doe may be more contemporary, and wearing the lesser-expensive and widely available jeans that might match the socio-economic area she was found in? (And please know that I am not criticizing or looking down on anyone, just saying that an area with folks who may be in lower-paying jobs are probably watching the $$ more carefully-- I don't buy expensive name-brands for my kid either! :))
 
Highland Park is an interesting little area. It was right in middle of the auto manufacturing kingdom of Ford and Chrysler. The population shifted significantly late '60's-early 70's, and dropped significantly in size (1960= 38,000/2000= 16,000). "Chrysler, the last major private sector employer in the city, moved its corporate headquarters from Highland Park to Auburn Hills between 1991 and 1993, paying the city a total of $44 million in compensation.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highland_Park,_Michigan#cite_note-MasterPlan-3 The move dislocated a total of 6,000 jobs over this periodhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highland_Park,_Michigan#cite_note-MasterPlan-3. (from Wikipedia)
I was wondering if our Jane Doe's family could have moved out during that time...

According to public records, the house was last occupied in 2004. In looking at the street-view on google maps (which still pictures the house before the fire) It was by far not the largest house on the block-- many of the homes appear to be fairly well maintained. In recent years this would have been an eyesore, IMO. From it's condition, I don't know if anyone would have ventured in there- It looks very unstable.
Of interest to me is that the house is located on a service road, adjacent to a very busy street- looks like a highway to me. Separated only by a fence.

There appears to be a recovery/halfway type house across the street ("Recovery starts here and a mural painted on the side). Not saying anything bad about folks in that situation, but can't rule out that Jane Doe could have been placed there by someone who lived in the neighborhood only briefly.

I know it's likely that Jane lived there and died/was killed by the last residents of the house, or someone who knew them... but 2004 was a long time ago, so if they find that she was placed there more recently, my sleuthing might come in handy...
 
Highland Park is an interesting little area. It was right in middle of the auto manufacturing kingdom of Ford and Chrysler. The population shifted significantly late '60's-early 70's, and dropped significantly in size (1960= 38,000/2000= 16,000). "Chrysler, the last major private sector employer in the city, moved its corporate headquarters from Highland Park to Auburn Hills between 1991 and 1993, paying the city a total of $44 million in compensation.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highland_Park,_Michigan#cite_note-MasterPlan-3 The move dislocated a total of 6,000 jobs over this periodhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highland_Park,_Michigan#cite_note-MasterPlan-3. (from Wikipedia)
I was wondering if our Jane Doe's family could have moved out during that time...

According to public records, the house was last occupied in 2004. In looking at the street-view on google maps (which still pictures the house before the fire) It was by far not the largest house on the block-- many of the homes appear to be fairly well maintained. In recent years this would have been an eyesore, IMO. From it's condition, I don't know if anyone would have ventured in there- It looks very unstable.
Of interest to me is that the house is located on a service road, adjacent to a very busy street- looks like a highway to me. Separated only by a fence.

There appears to be a recovery/halfway type house across the street ("Recovery starts here and a mural painted on the side). Not saying anything bad about folks in that situation, but can't rule out that Jane Doe could have been placed there by someone who lived in the neighborhood only briefly.

I know it's likely that Jane lived there and died/was killed by the last residents of the house, or someone who knew them... but 2004 was a long time ago, so if they find that she was placed there more recently, my sleuthing might come in handy...

I was looking at the house, 401 Cortland St, before the fire, on Google Earth. It doesn't look very secure -- like anyone could go into the house if they wanted to.
 

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