LA LA - Donna O'Banion, 25, Baton Rouge, 23 Oct 1985

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Gardener1850

Gardener1850

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[h=1]Donna Christine O’Banion[/h]
  • donna_christine_obanion_1.jpg
O'Banion, circa 1985



  • Missing Since 10/23/1985
  • Missing From Baton Rouge, Louisiana
  • Classification Missing
  • Date of Birth 07/23/1960 (57)
  • Age 25 years old
  • Height and Weight 5'6, 125 pounds
  • Clothing/Jewelry Description A cut-off tank top, jeans and sandals.
  • Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, blue eyes. O'Banion has a tattoo of an eagle on her right shoulder blade and a tattoo of a sun, a cloud and a lightning bolt on her upper right arm.


[h=3]Details of Disappearance[/h] O'Banion was last seen leaving her waitressing shift at Southern Comfort on Airport Highway in Baton Rouge, Lousiana on the morning of October 23, 1985. She never arrived home that day and her mother reported her missing. O'Banion has never been heard from again. Few details are available in her case.

http://charleyproject.org/case/donna-christine-obanion

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/901/
 
From the forum I linked below it seems that Donna was married. I wonder if O’Banion was her married or maiden name. Donna disappeared in early hours from Southern Comfort Lounge on Airport Highway in 1985.

Interestingly, 3 years prior, in 1982 another woman disappeared from Airport Highway but Rack Lounge in early hours. Also tall, blond and blue eyes as Donna. It was Janet Landry Brice http://charleyproject.org/case/janet-landry-brice and Janet WS thread https://www.websleuths.com/forums/s...LA-Janet-Landry-Brice-21-Baton-Rouge-Aug-1982

Forum link to Donna's comments http://csafd.proboards.com/thread/208/donna-christine-obanion

Other Donna's profiles:

http://identifyla.lsu.edu/profile.php?id=247
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1366dfla.html
http://www.missingin.org/reg722/donna_christine_o_banion.htm

Dental Status: not available
DNA Status: Initial inquiry underway
Fingerprint Status: not available

Donna's Namus case has not been updated since 2008 so I wonder if DNA status is now finally available just not in that database. https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/901/

(PS: is lounge fancy word in american english for bar?)
 
Al Ka said:
(PS: is lounge fancy word in american english for bar?)
Click to expand...

RSBM:

Yes, but usually I think of it as being a bar attached to a hotel lobby or an airport or other type of venue like a convention center. It doens't always have alcohol but most do. I think of it as a public place for people to relax and have a drink or a snack while in between events or waiting for someone. The word may be used for some stand alone bars too but that is not what I usually think of when someone say "lounge". Sometimes I think the word is also used for "gentlemen's clubs" -- bars where women dance without clothes on. But that is not the first thing that comes to my mind if someone says lounge. It has been borrowed by those types of places in an attempt to sound fancy, IMO.
 
Thank you for explanation. When I think of it now they use that word in Europe too. Just not too often.

Gardener when you find some time do you mind to check for possible marriage certificate of Donna? Just to see when, where (which state) and how long she was married when she disappeared. Also for confirmation if O'Banion was her married or maiden name and if she perhaps lived or grew up in different state. As there is so little information out there for her any little extra helps. She was born 07/23/1960.
 
Al Ka said:
Thank you for explanation. When I think of it now they use that word in Europe too. Just not too often.

Gardener when you find some time do you mind to check for possible marriage certificate of Donna? Just to see when, where (which state) and how long she was married when she disappeared. Also for confirmation if O'Banion was her married or maiden name and if she perhaps lived or grew up in different state. As there is so little information out there for her any little extra helps. She was born 07/23/1960.
Click to expand...

It looks like her maiden name was Donna Dooley. She is listed on several family trees on Ancestry with a hyphenated name of Dooley-O'Bannion (spelled with 2 "n"s instead of the one in the missing report). The trees have been made private, so all I can see is her name, date of birth and date of death. Date of birth matches the one you gave above and date of death is her missing date of Oct 23 1985. I also found Donna Dooley listed in public address records with a a Baton Rouge address and the same Date of birth. Will look to see if I can find more info but with a quick look, there are several Donna Dooleys in the US in her age range. So I want to make sure whatever I post is her info and not another Donna Dooley.
 
I found two other women named Donna Dooley in Arkansas and Georgia that I can confirm by viewing their yearbook pictures are NOT this Donna who is missing. Just putting this info here so no one else goes down a rabbit hole sleuthing the wrong Donna. The ones in GA and AR are close to her in age but clearly not her.
 
Found an article from 27 Oct 1985:
attachment.php

That gives her address at the time as 5986 Stumberg Lane.
It also has mother's name which may be helpful.
 

Attachments

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Gardener1850 said:
It looks like her maiden name was Donna Dooley. She is listed on several family trees on Ancestry with a hyphenated name of Dooley-O'Bannion (spelled with 2 "n"s instead of the one in the missing report). The trees have been made private, so all I can see is her name, date of birth and date of death. Date of birth matches the one you gave above and date of death is her missing date of Oct 23 1985. I also found Donna Dooley listed in public address records with a a Baton Rouge address and the same Date of birth. Will look to see if I can find more info but with a quick look, there are several Donna Dooleys in the US in her age range. So I want to make sure whatever I post is her info and not another Donna Dooley.
Click to expand...

That is brilliant find and great help to have her maiden name. Thank You.

Does it state anywhere any other state apart of Louisiana? I mean which state she was born in? Or where and when was marriage? I will of course search too, now that we know her maiden name.
 
Al Ka said:
That is brilliant find and great help to have her maiden name. Thank You.

Does it state anywhere any other state apart of Louisiana? I mean which state she was born in? Or where and when was marriage? I will of course search too, now that we know her maiden name.
Click to expand...

I have not been able to find marriage record or birth record yet. Now that I see her mother had a different last name in 1985, I'm not sure if Dooley is the name Donna was born under or if that might be another married name.

I have found that her mother also lived at the address listed in the news article as Donna's address in 1985. So it seems she was living with her mom when she went missing.
 
Gardener1850 said:
I have not been able to find marriage record or birth record yet. Now that I see her mother had a different last name in 1985, I'm not sure if Dooley is the name Donna was born under or if that might be another married name.

I have found that her mother also lived at the address listed in the news article as Donna's address in 1985. So it seems she was living with her mom when she went missing.
Click to expand...

That you were able to see Donna with surname Dooley on ancestry with that same date of birth and death would suggest to me that indeed this was her maiden name rather then a name from yet another marriage. (Just a thought, not a fact). We can't also exclude that her mum might have remarried, therefore different surnames.
 
I found a small but important piece of info. Her husband filed for separation in Nov 1985:
attachment.php


Posting the screenshot of the announcement in the paper so as to not type his name.
This at least verifies she was married and O'Banion was a married name.
I found someone with his name who died in Baton Rouge in 1993.
The age of the man who died in 1993 is right to have been Donna's husband but I have not yet verified this is him.

Donna was not mentioned in his obituary (but he filed for separation so that is not too surprising).

I should mention, for those not aware, that some states require a spouse to first file separation with the courts prior to filing for divorce. I'm not sure on the divorce laws in Louisiana but this was likely the first step to getting a divorce. JMO.
 

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Gardener1850 said:
I found a small but important piece of info. Her husband filed for separation in Nov 1985:

<snipped for space>

I found someone with his name who died in Baton Rouge in 1993.
The age of the man who died in 1993 is right to have been Donna's husband but I have not yet verified this is him.

Donna was not mentioned in his obituary (but he filed for separation so that is not too surprising).

I should mention, for those not aware, that some states require a spouse to first file separation with the courts prior to filing for divorce. I'm not sure on the divorce laws in Louisiana but this was likely the first step to getting a divorce. JMO.
Click to expand...

BBM-- I have just found verification this was her husband who died in 1993. Circumstances of his death are extremely interesting with regards to this case, but I'm not sure I'm allowed to post it since Donna is not mentioned anywhere in the news article I found. Her mother was mentioned and that is how I know he was Donna's husband.
 
Thank you Gardener for clarifying. I was wondering why separation rather then divorce.

On another observation, hubby waited whole "two weeks" to file for separation after her disappearance... Or probably even less than that as it takes time for information to get to newspaper. Hmm
 
Sadly, Donna's mother passed away in 2005 (most likely not knowing what happened to her daughter, IMO).
 
Gardener1850 said:
BBM-- I have just found verification this was her husband who died in 1993. Circumstances of his death are extremely interesting with regards to this case, but I'm not sure I'm allowed to post it since Donna is not mentioned anywhere in the news article I found. Her mother was mentioned and that is how I know he was Donna's husband.
Click to expand...

I would think if circumstances of his death are in news than it should be ok to post here but if you not sure then better not unless mods Ok to do that, just to be on safe side.

I am very intrigued though! Can you PM me that info/link pretty please?
(strange that her mum would be mentioned in article about him, and no mention of her. Ok, I can't wait to read that)
 
I think I have found some partial information but probably not whole what you have found. If that is correct, than hmm wow, crazy.
 
Al Ka said:
I would think if circumstances of his death are in news than it should be ok to post here but if you not sure then better not unless mods Ok to do that, just to be on safe side.

I am very intrigued though! Can you PM me that info/link pretty please?
(strange that her mum would be mentioned in article about him, and no mention of her. Ok, I can't wait to read that)
Click to expand...

Ok, I'm going to post it and flag my post and let the mods decide. This is a historic article from 1994 and I think the people in the Baton Rouge area probably know all about this situation and what happened. I believe the article on how Donna's husband died is possibly relevant because it involved a motorcycle gang.
 
8 Apr 1994 Article from the Advocate
Baton Rouge, LA
attachment.php
 

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Is there 2nd part to that article? So you were correct in explaining other meaning of word lounge...

I think this is very important information to the case of missing Donna O'Banion, that her hubby was not just member but a leader of Sons of Silence motorcycle gang. It could point to searches for her, places or manner of her demise.

Just to add: It is also not mentioned how Donna was coming or going to work. If she drove or if someone was driving her/picking her up.
 
This article gives some of the same info as above but doesn't name Donna's daughter and mother:
attachment.php
 

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