Identified! PA - Berks Co., 2 WhtFems, photos in hangar, 1968-69 - Martha & Sandra Stiver

Police believe that these two cases are connected. Note that the sandal found with one victim is almost identical to the pair of sandals found with the other victim. Could these girls have been sisters, or perhaps girlfriends traveling together?

Photos found in an old hangar could provide clues to this case. Take a look at them on the links below. Also jewelry found on one victim can be viewed.

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Unidentified White Female #26607
"Caernarvon Township Jane Doe"

The victim was discovered on August 22, 1968 at State Route 82, Caernarvon Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania.
Estimated Date of Death: August 14, 1968
Cause of Death: Multiple gunshot wounds. 5 shots to the chest and abdomen, one to the left temple.
Extensive facial decomposition

Vital Statistics

Estimated age: Initial estimate was that she was 15-20 years old, however, when doctors examined calcium formations in the bone joints, it was decided that she may have been as old as 30.
Approximate Height and Weight: 5'3"; 125 - 130 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: Brown hair with reddish tint; unknown eyecolor. No scars or tattoos.
Clothing: Black Nehru-type blouse with zipper down the back, black bra - 36B, nylon stockings, white girdle, Nico brand white sandals made in Italy, size M8. No slacks or skirt found.
Jewelry: Bronze, four-way, religious medal on a heavy, endless chain. The medal depicted the crucifix on the front. On the back was the inscription: "I am a Catholic. In case of emergency, call me a priest". She was also wearing a sterling identification-type bracelet with a flexible band on her left wrist. There was no inscription on the ID bracelet.
Dentals: Available. There are amalgam fillings present.
Fingerprints: Available
DNA: Not available

Case History
The victim was located at State Route 82, Caernarvon Township, Berks County, near the Chester/Berks county line on August 22, 1968.

She died of multiple gunshot wounds. 22-caliber short bullets were removed from the body.

Authorities believe this case may be related to 485UFPA.

Two photographs were found in August 1969, in an abandoned hangar, which police believe was used as a hangout for area motorcycle gangs. The girls in the photos have never been identified. Police have information indicating that these photos could be instrumental in identifying the two victims.

PHOTOS in Link:
Top Row: Sterling identification bracelet; bronze medal with inscription; white sandals
Bottom Row: Photographs found in an abandoned hangar.

Investigators
If you have any information about this case please contact:
Pennsylvania State Police
610-378-4035
You may remain anonymous when submitting information.

Agency Case Number: L01-0026607
NCIC Number: U-294925792
Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.

Source Information:
Pennsylvania State Police
Pennsylvania Missing
The Doe Network: Case File 447UFPA

LINK:
http://doenetwork.org/cases/447ufpa.html


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Unidentified White Female # 33856
"French Creek Jane Doe"

The victim was discovered on April 18, 1969 in French Creek State Park, Berks County, Pennsylvania
Estimated Date of Death: August 1968
Cause of Death: Undetermined
Skeletal Remains
Formerly Hot Case # 44

Vital Statistics

Estimated age: 21 years old
Approximate Height and Weight: 5'1".
Distinguishing Characteristics: Brown hair.
Dentals: Not available; she was missing 3 teeth, but it is unknown if they were missing prior to death, or if they were lost during a struggle.
Clothing: The victim was found nude. A pair of panties & a white sandal were found near remains. The mate to the sandal has never been found. Elastic waist of panties rolled as if they were rolled off the victim.
Fingerprints: Not available
DNA: Not available

Case History

The victim was located in French Creek State Park, Berks County, Pennsylvania on April 18, 1969.

Her remains were scattered over a 12' area. She was found on a large flat rock. There was no effort to conceal or bury her body.

Authorities believe this case may be related to 447UFPA.

She was located about 3 1/2 miles from where the first victim was located.

The photographs below were found in August 1969, in an abandoned hangar, which police believe was used as a hangout for area motorcycle gangs. The girls in the photos have never been identified.

Police have information indicating that Photos found in 1969 (see links) could be instrumental in identifying the two victims.

Investigators
If you have any information about this case please contact:
Pennsylvania State Police
610-378-4035
You may remain anonymous when submitting information.

Agency Case Number: L01-0033856
NCIC Number: U-294927902
Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.

Source Information:
Pennsylvania State Police
Pennsylvania Missing
The Doe Network: Case File 485UFPA

LINK:
http://doenetwork.org/cases/485ufpa.html

At the top of the photo of the younger girl are the words "expo67". I googled that and came up with a site commemorating the Canadian centennial celebration, which was in 1967. It was called "Expo 67" and was held in Montreal. http://expo67.ncf.ca/

Perhaps the two young women were Canadian? They may have had the photos taken in one of those fun photo booths as a souvenir of their visit to the Expo.

I'll do some more exploring...

Edited to add: Expo 67 was actually the short-form name for the 1967 World's Fair (aka International and Universal Exhibition) and it coincided with Canada's centennial -- so both events were celebrated.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expo_67

These girls are my pet cases. They were recently featured in my local newspaper to try to get some new leads. I'm in the process of finding out where these girls are buried (no one has the records to the local potters field). It's sad, if these girls ever are identified who knows where their bodies are?

Here's a link to the newspaper article: http://tinyurl.com/yxtjad

Edited to add: One of the girls looks remarkably like Pamela Nater. This match was submitted to the PA State Police (who passed it on to LE in Florida) and LE in Florida hasn't acted on this because they believe the girls are in the Ocala National Forest.

Am I seeing things, or does the girl on the right have a chain with a medallion/medal around her neck? She appears to on my computer screen, at least. And if so, does it appear to be similar to the religious medal found at the scene?

The Expo 67 connection might be a good one to publicize--while many people no doubt attended it, how many matching the victims would have turned up missing?

I'm not sure of the cost involved, but could investigators ask a forensic reconstruction expert to create 3-D models based on the skulls of the unidentified women found in Berks County, then compare the reconstructions to the faces of the women in the photos? That would at least make me feel more certain that the women in the photos are the same as the unidentified Berks Co. women.

pittsburghgirl said:

Am I seeing things, or does the girl on the right have a chain with a medallion/medal around her neck? She appears to on my computer screen, at least. And if so, does it appear to be similar to the religious medal found at the scene?

The Expo 67 connection might be a good one to publicize--while many people no doubt attended it, how many matching the victims would have turned up missing?

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Pittsburghgirl: Yes, the girl on the right does appear to have a necklace/chain. I can't get a good enough look at it to see if it has a medallion. From what I understand, the religious medallion was found near the body of the older girl.

The Expo 67 connection might at least provide a clue to the timeline of where the girls in the photos were before they were murdered. If they were up in Montreal, Quebec in 1967 (summertime, based on their clothing).

And I would think that, in addition to the timeline, someone somewhere (a parent, a friend or relative, even a police officer) would know that two girls who turned up missing had been to the Expo.

Although, as I write this, it is hard to hold onto that thought knowing how many people appear to be "missing" when no one is missing them...

maima said:

I'm not sure of the cost involved, but could investigators ask a forensic reconstruction expert to create 3-D models based on the skulls of the unidentified women found in Berks County, then compare the reconstructions to the faces of the women in the photos? That would at least make me feel more certain that the women in the photos are the same as the unidentified Berks Co. women.

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That's a great idea but the county doesn't have the records as to where these girls are buried. The potter's field has no markers at all. I walked around the entire thing and there is nothing. It's just an empty field except for a sign in the middle of it that says county cemetary.

Paradise said:

That's a great idea but the county doesn't have the records as to where these girls are buried. The potter's field has no markers at all. I walked around the entire thing and there is nothing. It's just an empty field except for a sign in the middle of it that says county cemetary.

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Even though there are no markers, it would be a fairly easy task to locate individual graves. There is quite likely a plat of the cemetery with an indication of what remains were buried in what grave. This would be especially true if the cemetery is still an active one. You have to know where the graves are so that you don't dig into one when burying another body.

Were photographs or drawings done when these two girls' bodies were found? There are fingerprints and dental charts available for the first girl, as well as the composite drawing of the face.

Richard said:

Even though there are no markers, it would be a fairly easy task to locate individual graves. There is quite likely a plat of the cemetery with an indication of what remains were buried in what grave. This would be especially true if the cemetery is still an active one. You have to know where the graves are so that you don't dig into one when burying another body.

Were photographs or drawings done when these two girls' bodies were found? There are fingerprints and dental charts available for the first girl, as well as the composite drawing of the face.

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You can see where people are buried, there's lots of bumps and the ground isn't even. The cemetary was started in 1952, and according to the county historian they were just about out of space around 25 years ago. I can't find anyone with records of who's buried there. I tried the coroner's office and they weren't really sure if they had them or not. I also tried the county nursing home because I got some information that someone there has records. The man I spoke with wasn't sure if they had them but he took my name and said he'd check into it. I just feel like these people are being so disrespected, they were unidentified or indigents and no one is really looking out for them.

I'm not really sure what photographs or drawings were done. I can't even find out who's buried in the Potter's Field. If you look under the composite of 447UFPA you'll see the disclaimer, "Please keep in mind that there are no pictures of this victim and it is unknown if this is an accurate portrayal of what she looked like." So who knows where they got this picture from.

Here are a few pictures of the Potter's Field, there really is nothing there.

How odd that they wore the same stye of shoe. Perhaps it was part of a work uniform?

If you click on the link in my signature you can see go to my webpage about the girls and see the newspaper articles about them. Supposedly the shoes were purchased in Monesson, PA and the shoe shop owner was showed the pictures of the girls that were found in the hangar and he said they were the same girls who came in and purchased the shoes. There is also another story floating around that there were two girls missing from a reform school in Reading and I can't find out if they were ever found or not. Supposedly those shoes were like the ones worn for their summer uniform. There's just so many unanswered questions.

Paradise said:

... Supposedly the shoes were purchased in Monesson, PA and the shoe shop owner was showed the pictures of the girls that were found in the hangar and he said they were the same girls who came in and purchased the shoes. ....

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This makes a lot of sense and confirms my impression that these were infact young teenagers, rather than age 21 or older. Young girls like to dress alike and the link of these shoes is a very strong clue in this case.

The idea that they may have traveled together to Canada, and then to PA would make the possibility of them being taken advantage of by bikers (or others) very strong. If they were from a "reform" type school, it might mean that their home/family lives were not that good. If they were from out of state it might explain why nobody ever came forward to identify them.

Unfortunately, websites like Doenetwork and NCMEC are fairly new, and there are many many more recent cases, than those as far back as 1968. There may be clues in newspaper stories about missing girls, but it will take some digging into archives to find them, as much of that information is not yet on the internet.

Paradise said:

Here are a few pictures of the Potter's Field, there really is nothing there....

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The photos indicate that at least the grounds are well mowed and kept, even though the graves appear to be unmarked.

It is possible that there may be in-ground survey stakes to mark the beginning of each row, and that there is a system for measuring each successive grave.

This area would be very easy to dowse or survey with in-ground radar. Perhaps a recommendation could be made to the County Council to locate all records and to mark the graves, or rows in some manner.

Supposedly they were marked but the markers were stolen. I have spoken with the county commissioner's office and they don't have any records, and frankly I don't think they want to concern themselves with this matter. Out of sight, out of mind. I do need to call back a lady from the coroner's office though, so hopefully when I talk to her she'll have some info or can point me in the right direction.

If you look at the picture of the girl marked Expo 67, there is a circular logo in the upper left corner. Compare that to the logo for the Canadian centennial celebration in the link that Maima posted. They look almost identical.

pittsburghgirl said:

And I would think that, in addition to the timeline, someone somewhere (a parent, a friend or relative, even a police officer) would know that two girls who turned up missing had been to the Expo.

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I did a bit of googling when I saw that logo on the picture because I thought it might be useful in narrowing the search, but results are not encouraging. As it turns out Expo67 was the most successful World Fair ever, 70 million visitors attended including no less than 40 million from the US. This is known because all visitors had to have their picture taken for the passport-like pass that was required for access to the site. That's a lot of people. Incidentally, LBJ and Queen Elizabeth II were among them.

I don't know if those passports contained any personal info other than the holder's name and address but even if it did, and even if that info is in a computerized database somewhere (there are indications that it is) privacy issues would likely require that whoever wants access must first secure a warrant from a Canadian judge, and I don't think judges there are any more inclined to grant such warrants than our judges on based on such circumstantial evidence.

I imagine that when someone had their picture taken for the passport the photographer would give them a number of extra prints that they could carry with them and give out to friends or new people they met in Montreal (remember it was the Summer of Love after all) so this picture could be of just about anyone, either one of the victims or someone they met. I don't think that would be enough to secure a warrant

KarlK said:

I did a bit of googling when I saw that logo on the picture because I thought it might be useful in narrowing the search, but results are not encouraging....

I don't know if those passports contained any personal info other than the holder's name and address but even if it did, and even if that info is in a computerized database somewhere (there are indications that it is) privacy issues would likely require that whoever wants access must first secure a warrant from a Canadian judge, and I don't think judges there are any more inclined to grant such warrants than our judges on based on such circumstantial evidence. ...

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I doubt that any kind of computerized records were kept in 1967. If there is a listing of visitors, they most likely contained no photos.

Back then - and even some 20 years later - most passports and ID badges were done with polaroid photos glued or laminated onto the ID card/page. It was nothing like the systems we have today.

You may be right about extra photos, however. I made photo ID badges for an organization back in the mid 1980's. The Polaroid camera that I had could be set to make either one, two or four photos on each photo sheet. I would take two photos of each person, and allow them to select the one they wanted on their badge. The extra one was placed in a box in my desk and if someone lost their badge, I could make up a new one quickly using the other photo.

It is possible that extra photos made in this manner could have been given to the person being photographed.

I recall military ID cards being done in a similar manner. The photo was made, cut out with a special punch, and then glued right to the paper before the whole thing was laminated. It wasn't until the 1990's that the digitized images started to be used.

Richard said:

I doubt that any kind of computerized records were kept in 1967. If there is a listing of visitors, they most likely contained no photos.

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I have my doubts as well but according to an article about Expo67 published in the National Geographic Magazine early in 1967 Expo organizers boasted about the event being the "first World Fair where everything is done by computers". No doubt there was a bit of hype in that statement but one must take into account that most of the Fair's themes were futuristic in essence and that even in 1967 computerized records were not that exceptional in such large organizations so I'd say there are good chances that there is indeed such a database. But this doesn't help us much (see below) so I didn't elaborate past legal issues.

Obviously files in such a database would not contain pictures but may contain references to paper files that may or may not include pictures of passport holders. Back then this was the kind of event that governments sometimes took advantage of to collect info for statistical purposes. Unlike today there were no guidelines against such procedures. However the nature of the data collected (name and address I suppose, maybe DOB as well) is not specific enough to be of great help in this murder case, because it involves an enormous amount of records.

So even if there are pictures in those files one would first have to narrow the criteria down to age and then area of residence (and we have no idea where the victims were from) before sifting through thousands and thousands of pictures by hand. Not realistically feasible unless one is ready to devote years to such a project... if one could find a judge who wouldn't deem the whole thing insane.