KS KS - Dickinson County, BlkFem Skeletal UP2423, 50-60, T-shirt from Titusville, Oct'87

https://identifyus.org/en/cases/2423

Skeletal remains of a black female, approx 50-60 yoa, were found on Oct 24, 1987, in rural Dickinson County, KS. The decedent was wearing a T-shirt which read "ASTRONAUT CROSS COUNTRY - We Believe In State Championships 1980", and the shirt was traced to a school in Titusville, FL.

There is no one matching the description entered as missing from Titusville. The closest matching case is Retha L. Hiers, who went missing from Largo in 1982:

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/512dffl.html

Her case is connected to the disappearance of two other women as well; all three disappeared while ending relationships with the same man:

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1737dffl.html
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1106dffl.html

Circumstances box says the following

A Forensic Anthropologist determined that the victim was a black female between the ages of 40 and 50 years old who was approximately 5’2 ½” to 5’5 ½” tall and it was estimated that she died sometime between 07/01/1987 and 09/15/1987.

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Expanded the age a bit and came up with Regina Brown https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/2018/0/ But there is literally no reason for her to have been in Kansas.

Dickinson County is between 2 large military bases.

The former Schilling AFB is to the west in Salina. Perhaps the tee-shirt indicates a tie to Patrick AFB??? Fort Riley to the east.

ETA: Schilling was decommissioned earlier than I thought, but Fort Riley controlled parts of the facility well into the 70's.

IDK what Army installations are near Titusville, do you???

Has Virginia lee been mentioned

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/399dfga.html

UNSOLVED MYSTERIES

Jane Doe’s skeletal remains were found on Oct. 24, 1987 in a wooded area off a pasture near King Solomon Camp Road, north of Interstate 70.

She died from a gunshot wound to the head, according to Dickinson County Sheriff’s Department Investigator Jerry Davis.

“Some leads were followed, but they all ran out,” Davis said. “There are no suspects at this time.”

[...]

Davis said there have been potential matches on Jane Doe, but they were dead ends.

“We haven’t been able to identify her and that’s the worst part about it,” Davis said. “There’s somebody out there missing a loved one and we don’t know who she is or where she was from.”

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MISSING IN KANSAS: Mystery behind unidentified murder victim



[....]

A grocery sack was found nearby. It read "Center Supermarket, Serving You in Three Locations, 2810 Niles, Pumpkin Center, and 10595 Rosedale Highway". Davis said the grocery sack was associated with the Center Supermarket located in Bakersfield, Calif. Yet, he does not know if the grocery sack is related to the homicide.



UNIQUE CLOTHES

Clothes were on Jane Doe, including Sugar Babies brand tennis shoes and Jalapeno brand denim jeans. Looking through copyrights for the brands, they appear to have been sold through department stores. At one point, J.C. Penney used the Sugar Babies name. Jane Doe was also wearing a shirt from Astronaut High School in Titusville Florida. The maroon shirt read, “Astronaut Cross Country – We Believe in State Championships 1980.”

The Titusville Police Department searched its records and said no woman matches Jane Doe’s description. One investigator said it’s possible the shirt was bought a thrift store and the woman is not connected to the high school.

Still, KAKE News reached out to Astronaut High School to learn more about the cross-country team. It had years of championship wins. We requested a roster and contacted several former students. Nobody knows Jane Doe. Her case is one of 25 from Kansas listed on the Namus database, featuring missing and unidentified people.

[....]

According to the 1981 Astronaut High School yearbook there was only one person of color on the cross-country team that went to state in 1980. I went down a rabbit hole, and it seems that all of her immediate relatives are accounted for (though I could probably do a deeper dive when I have a little more time). Perhaps the shirt was purchased at a secondhand store.
I tried to track Hiers to this person, but couldn't find a connection.

perfectingpink said:

MISSING IN KANSAS: Mystery behind unidentified murder victim

[....]

A grocery sack was found nearby. It read "Center Supermarket, Serving You in Three Locations, 2810 Niles, Pumpkin Center, and 10595 Rosedale Highway". Davis said the grocery sack was associated with the Center Supermarket located in Bakersfield, Calif. Yet, he does not know if the grocery sack is related to the homicide.



UNIQUE CLOTHES

Clothes were on Jane Doe, including Sugar Babies brand tennis shoes and Jalapeno brand denim jeans. Looking through copyrights for the brands, they appear to have been sold through department stores. At one point, J.C. Penney used the Sugar Babies name. Jane Doe was also wearing a shirt from Astronaut High School in Titusville Florida. The maroon shirt read, “Astronaut Cross Country – We Believe in State Championships 1980.”

The Titusville Police Department searched its records and said no woman matches Jane Doe’s description. One investigator said it’s possible the shirt was bought a thrift store and the woman is not connected to the high school.

Still, KAKE News reached out to Astronaut High School to learn more about the cross-country team. It had years of championship wins. We requested a roster and contacted several former students. Nobody knows Jane Doe. Her case is one of 25 from Kansas listed on the Namus database, featuring missing and unidentified people.

[....]

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It could just be that she got the shirt from a thrift store, I know I've definitely seen some out-of-state school gear at Goodwill before.