AZ AZ - Phoenix, Female UP984, 19-30, in roadside ditch, retainer on teeth, Aug'83

NamUs UP 984 https://identifyus.org/en/cases/984



Unidentified Female


Physical Description


Body Condition

Clothing & Accessories


Identifiers

Case History

Laura Maria Hernandez is a new addition to NamUs. (LKA around December 1980 in Clovis NM)

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/26514/0

She pretty closely resembles this Jane Doe, especially her teeth, and the shape of her nose.



* There is no indication of prior orthodontics or a dental retainer in her NamUs casefile.
* And her height is off by three inches.
* There is no explanation of the circumstances, so it is unclear whether a 2 1/2 year timeframe is reasonable.

* But her age (about 28 in Aug 1983) is right though, compared to the 19-30 age estimate
* And the Jane Doe was found in an adjacent state (Arizona) from where she was LKA (New Mexico)

Dat sketch tho...


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Wait a minute, she only dead 1 day but was in recognizable? What happened to this poor girl?

ETA: wow I can't even form complete sentences. I need sleep.

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The sketch looks close! IMO she might have been hit by a vehicle & had disfiguring injuries. Possibly a hitchhiker who was the victim of a hit and run?

Tssiemer said:

Wait a minute, she only dead 1 day but was in recognizable? What happened to this poor girl?

ETA: wow I can't even form complete sentences. I need sleep.

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Click to expand...

One day in the August heat and sun of Arizona could make a body unrecognizable.

wintermute said:

One day in the August heat and sun of Arizona could make a body unrecognizable.

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The animals in the desert go after bodies pretty quickly too.

Two ruleouts on her Namus page https://identifyus.org/en/cases/984

Exclusions
The following people have been ruled out as being this decedent:

First Name Last Name Year of Birth State LKA

Theresa Greaves 1959 Utah
Pamela Neal 1960 Colorado

Bump.

Now 6 rule outs

Theresa Greaves 1959 Utah
Linda Jackson 1983 Washington
Leslie Marty 1963 West Virginia
Pamela Neal 1960 Colorado
Kristina Perkins 1953 Arizona
Amy Yachimec 1968 Arizona

hayaletcatcher said:

Bump.

Now 6 rule outs

Theresa Greaves 1959 Utah
Linda Jackson 1983 Washington
Leslie Marty 1963 West Virginia
Pamela Neal 1960 Colorado
Kristina Perkins 1953 Arizona
Amy Yachimec 1968 Arizona

Click to expand...

Mary Opitz 1966 Florida has been added. On her NamUs page there is a Snapshot Phenotype Report that was done for this UID that is very fascinating.

theshadow45 said:

Mary Opitz 1966 Florida has been added. On her NamUs page there is a Snapshot Phenotype Report that was done for this UID that is very fascinating.

Click to expand...

IMO Mary Opitz looks similiar to the sketch

RiggsFamily2011 said:

IMO Mary Opitz looks similiar to the sketch

Click to expand...

Welcome to Websleuths, RiggsFamily2011 :wagon:!

https://identifyus.org/en/medias/full/43888

The Parabon profile includes a sketch that makes her look a bit younger than the older sketch.

Ahwatukee Jane Doe has been unidentified for 36 years today.

Peggy Ann Elgo – The Charley Project
Supposedly identified as this woman.
There is a link, but I can't access it:
Despite Identifying Missing Woman, Mystery Remains
EDIT: Now that I can access the link, Peggy was a different Doe but her family approached the police believing that she was this Doe.

Parabon NanoLabs is working on this case
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Despite Identifying Missing Woman, Mystery Remains



August 15th, 1983 Phoenix Police Officers located a woman's body near a canal access road around 43rd Street and Williams Road, in an Ahwatukee neighborhood. For years, detectives worked to identify the woman with no luck. For the past 37 years, she has been known only as “Medical Examiner Case Number 83-1480", and Ahwatukee Jane Doe. Her true identity has remained a mystery.

Fast forward to 2018. Detectives with the Missing and Unidentified Persons Unit used a new technique called Forensic Genealogy. If that term sounds familiar, it is because Phoenix Police and other agencies have had recent success with this new technology. Results from this testing located some very distant relatives and determined that Ahwatukee Jane was likely a member of the San Carlos Apache Tribe. This information was shared with local media, and family members from a missing woman named Peggy Elgo came forward.
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Peggy was a member of the San Carlos Apache Tribe and was last seen in 1983 when she was twenty years old.
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The DNA did not match. Phoenix investigators did not stop there. They uploaded the family samples into CODIS, the national DNA database. In 2019, they received a notification of a possible DNA association to another unidentified body case. This Jane Doe was located on June 7, 1983 in a remote desert area in Pinal County. Additional testing was performed, and investigators were able to positively identify the Pinal County Jane Doe as Peggy Elgo.


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Ahwatukee Jane Doe's identity is still a mystery. Phoenix detectives hope another family member will see this story and come forward, like Peggy Elgo's family did, and provide information on who Ahwatukee Jane is.
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Ahwatukee Jane is described as a Native American female, 25-30 years old in 1983, 5'05", 142 pounds, with shoulder length black hair with loose curls, and brown eyes. She had a metal retainer on the tongue side of her lower teeth. During her life, she had orthodontic dental work that was characterized as “excellent". Forensic Genealogy has shown that she is likely a member of the San Carlos Apache Tribe.
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If anyone has any information on the Ahwatukee Jane case, please contact the Phoenix Police Department's Missing and Unidentified Persons Unit at 602-534-2121, or after hours contact 602-262-6141. Tips can also be called into Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS, 480-TESTIGO for Spanish.

Despite Identifying Missing Woman, Mystery Remains
===

As JovanSrna stated Pinal County Jane Doe was identified as Peggy Ann Elgo thanks to this Jane Doe.

Peggy's thread - AZ - Peggy Ann Elgo 19 missing from Peridot, Arizona 1983
Link to Peggy's thread as Jane Doe - AZ - Pinal County, Arizona Blk Fem 20-25 UP11058 found in desert, head missing June 83

Published August 15, 1983 Phoenix, Arizona Jane Doe



August 15, 1983 Phoenix, Arizona Jane Doe - Newspapers.com

EDIT: Nvm, wrong thread.

Ahwatukee Jane Doe has been unidentified for 37 years today.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

MP53532 Peggy Elgo 01/01/1983 Gila AZ
MP1353 Theresa Geaves 08/11/1983 Davis UT
MP14016 Linda Jackson 05/03/1983 King WA
MP19340 Leslie Marty 07/30/1983 Wood WV
MP8358 Pamela Neal 03/31/1983 Arapahoe CO
MP6466 Mary Opitz 01/16/1981 Lee FL
MP9037 Kristina Perkins 09/10/1975 Maricopa AZ
MP4575 Amy Yachimec 11/06/1981 Maricopa AZ