Match! NY - Caledonia, WhtFem 1UFNY, 13-19, Turquoise Necklace, Nov'79 *Tammy Alexander*

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In the late 70s it was popular to wear men's or boys' clothes, so I wouldn't read too much into that either way.

Also, preventive dentistry wasn't as common. It wasn't unusual for people to have bad teeth.
 
Here is the verified info

A few of us got together to write a list of questions; Nameless Helper offered to be the one to speak to LE.

VERIFIED INFORMATION
Per Nameless Helper phone call 10/1 to LE

1. Blood type is A-
2. Shot first in the head then dragged face down into the field. No effort to hide her. Jacket was red. Road was busier then as the interstate was not built yet.
3. Dental isotopes were done in 05 and last year. First suggested Carolina to Texas. Second south west. Indication I a lot of corn in the diet.
4. His gut reaction is that she was on the older end of the age range given maturity and fewer food additives then accelerating development.
5. They match primarily with DNA and dentals.
6. Native Am heritage is a possibility but month in in the tests can confirm that. They recently flooded the SW with fliers including the reservations but no response.

List of questions 10/3 -
1. Was a tox screen done? We'd like to request a copy of the tox screen, police report and autopsy report. Do we need to use the Freedom of Info act to request it?

A - Tox screen was done and there were no drugs or alcohol in her system. I would be happy to answer any questions you have, but releasing any documents in their entirety may prove detrimental to a prosecution should be ever get to that point. Even though this is most certainly a "cold case", it is still open and being actively investigated.

2. Was it determined where she ate her last meal?

A - It was not determined with certainty, but we believe her last meal was at the Lima Diner. They were the only restaurant within a reasonable distance that served ham and corn the evening before she was found. The witness remembered a male and female coming in and that the female wore a red jacket that appeared too big for her. This witness was unable to positively identify our Jane Doe.

3. Had she ever given Birth?

A - There was no evidence of past or present pregnancy

4. General Hygiene & Hair - Has any info been released on her hygiene beyond her tooth decay? She cared enough to frost her hair approx 4 months before her death. Did the M.E. indicate whether he thought her hair was permed? Did the ME indicate how old her perm was? Did they keep any hair? Was she brushing her teeth? Did she shave her underarms and legs? Remove any facial hairs? Her eyebrows look tweezed, so she had access to a tweezer at some point. If she had been raised or living in the SW as the isotope testing on her teeth as well as the pollen revealed, then most likely she was hitch hiking from area to area. That was common back then. When kids are out on their own, they do not follow the normal routine so knowing the above would be helpful in determining if she was hitching for a while or not. i.e. how long was she likely on her own.

A - Her hygiene appeared to be good. I would surmise that she did brush her teeth, although there was no evidence of any dental care whatsoever. She did appear to have shaved her legs and under her arms. She had minimal facial hair and her eyebrows were normal, not bushy.

5. NECKLACE RELATED - many of us had the same jewelry; it was sold at Grants before they went out of business. Some got theirs through the
mail... Was the turquoise checked to see what region it came from? My understanding is that each mine has different "strains". Perhaps that can pinpoint a location.

A - We have sent the necklace to the FBI lab on two occasions, but to my knowledge there has never been a "location" determined for the turquoise.

6. AGE RELATED - What was taken into consideration to get her age range? We know wisdom teeth; were growth plates used too? What was the age change from 20 to mid teen based on?

A - There was an original autopsy done at that time by a local doctor who was our County Coroner. There was a follow up exam done as well by someone from the Monroe County Medical Examiners Office. The original doctor thought 19-21 yrs. old. The second examiner estimated her to be 16-18 years of age and described her as "mid to late adolescence". I do not believe growth plates were used in any of these estimates. X Rays done at that time showed what the doctor described as a "lack of bone development for someone over 18 years old". He then estimated her at 16 years of age, plus or minus 2 years.

7. TEETH RELATED - What type of dental work was performed by a "foreign" dentist? Had her Canines come all the way down?

A - I have no idea what you mean by foreign dentist. She had never had any type of dental care. Two wisdom teeth had erupted, another was severely eroded and the fourth was still below the gums. Yes, her canines were all the way down.

8. CLOTHING RELATED - Brands and sizes and gender of shirt, pants, and shoes. Brand of panties and size. Did her shoes fit her? Size of her pants, shirt, panties and shoes. Were the pants also mens pants?

A - Her pants were a size 7. Bra was 32C. Blouse was a medium. Jacket was a large. There were no labels or size located on her panties. Shoes were a size 8. I have no information on fitment. I would say the pants were not mens due to size (7)

9. DINER RELATED - What was the name of the Diner ( in LIMA?)? How far from where she was found? Was she wearing the same outfit when at the diner? Since the waitress described the guy she was with, did they act like they knew each other?

A - Lima Diner was the name. The distance from where she was found to the Diner is just under 9 miles. The waitress noted the red jacket that appeared too big for her. The waitress noted that she appeared younger than the male she was with and the waitress assumed maybe they were brother and sister. She did not note any unusual behavior between the two.

10. TRUCKER RELATED - How many truckers actually remembered seeing her hitching? Where was the truck stop that the trucker saw her at (at 20 and 5 or somewhere else?)? How many thought her destination was Boston Mass Vs NY? How many truckers actually admitted seeing her the night before?

A - We checked every restaurant and truck stop headed east between Hopewell, NY (Ontario County) and Caledonia. We did not locate anyone other than the waitress at the Lima Diner who had any information. I am not aware of any truckers that saw her.

11. MISC - What part of her body was the spent slug found under? Since the slug was found under her the shot had to have exited her body, so most likely was the last shot. Were attempts made to get touch DNA off her clothing? If she was drug by feet into the cornfield, there should be touch DNA on her somewhere. The slug being under her says to me, the killer did not turn her over. Yet, no harm in checking that since one of us will have him on the phone anyway, right?

A - The slug entered her back and exited under her left arm near her breast. The slug was located while sifting the dirt under the body. Its location was consistent with the exit wound. We believe she was shot in the head at the shoulder of the road. Then dragged into the field by the feet face down. She was then shot again in the back. There was no such thing as touch DNA back then. Therefore, the evidence was not handled like we would today. Touch DNA was completed on the evidence, but was done recently.

12. Will they consider sending her DNA to 23andme to get ancestry line done? It is $99; they may be able to have it donated. It very well could provide a lead to her family name via matching cousins or siblings. Roselvr will provide info

A - Maybe. I would want more information first. We would need to know if we can provide a DNA profile as opposed to a swab. Due to the circumstances, we don't have a swab to send them. but there is already a profile for her based on our exhumation in 2005.
 
This is incredible!!!! Great job Carl!!! I would be shocked if this isn't Cali...I can't believe it!!! This is incredible.
 
Are those two dots on Tammy's chin and cheek moles? They look like moles but they're not mentioned on the NamUs profile and they look very ''sharp'' in comparison to the soft coloring in the rest of the picture (especially the one on her chin), so I don't know if it's just damage to the picture. Just curious since I don't remember Cali having moles on her face.

There are also a few discrepancies (3-inch height difference, 20-pound weight difference) but that's to be expected in a 37-year-old case, especially since Tammy was gone for months prior to Cali being found.

I try not to get excited but I really, really think this might be her. Awesome work, Carl!!
 
Are those two dots on Tammy's chin and cheek moles? They look like moles but they're not mentioned on the NamUs profile and they look very ''sharp'' in comparison to the soft coloring in the rest of the picture (especially the one on her chin), so I don't know if it's just damage to the picture. Just curious since I don't remember Cali having moles on her face.

If you zoom in, you can see that at least two of them are dirt specks on the photo. You can see white circles around the spots where the speck discolored the image.
 
Are those two dots on Tammy's chin and cheek moles? They look like moles but they're not mentioned on the NamUs profile and they look very ''sharp'' in comparison to the soft coloring in the rest of the picture (especially the one on her chin), so I don't know if it's just damage to the picture. Just curious since I don't remember Cali having moles on her face.

There are also a few discrepancies (3-inch height difference, 20-pound weight difference) but that's to be expected in a 37-year-old case, especially since Tammy was gone for months prior to Cali being found.

I try not to get excited but I really, really think this might be her. Awesome work, Carl!!

Regarding the height and weight discrepancy, my guess is that the person who reported Tammy missing estimated her height and weight. Considering Cali's (who I'm convinced is Tammy) lack of dental care, she probably hadn't had her measurements taken by a doctor in some time. The weight of 100 lbs just sounds so estimated to me. If it had been something more specific like 104 lbs, I may have taken it into consideration.
 
Regarding the height and weight discrepancy, my guess is that the person who reported Tammy missing estimated her height and weight.

Yes. The last-seen date for Tammy Jo (Jan 1, 1977) also sound like a guess-timate that someone thinking back 35 years might make. I'm wondering about the source of Tammy's report, and why it took so long to appear. This is just an amazing find. Very hopeful.
 
If this is Cali (which I whole-heartedly believe it is!!) I can't believe how different her nose turned out to be. It was a huge injustice to her actual features seeing the photo taken at the angle that it was (the morgue photo).

I guess this is a good lesson to learn that features can seem quite askew based on the angle of the photo!
 
LE replied that they located Tammy's half sister (who shares a common mother with Tammy), and have secured a DNA FRS from her.

They expect the sample to arrive today at UNT.

It is very good that it is a common mother as opposed to half siblings with a common father because they will be able to compare mitochondrial DNA
 
As someone else expressed, it gets frustrating to see what look like very good prospects only to find out that there is no match. For that reason I tend not to get overly excited, although this is the best possible match we've seen.

If this is not Tammy, at least they'll have her mtDNA on file and maybe it will match some other UID, assuming of course that Tammy is deceased.
 
Do we know anything else about Tammy and the circumstances under which she went missing? Since she appears in the 78-79 yearbook, I'm guessing her LKA should be Jan 1979, instead of 77?
 
They are not hanging about with this, are they?! Hopefully we will have either a match or a rule out within days (or weeks at the most)!
 
They are not hanging about with this, are they?! Hopefully we will have either a match or a rule out within days (or weeks at the most)!

I agree! I think we should know something within a week. I say a week since today is Friday. I don't know about everyone else but I'm feeling very emotional!

I was really close to Linette Marie Millers sister when it was suggested she was Cali. I can tell you it took way more time to get DNA! The sister did her sample fairly quick; they wanted a 2nd sample & held Grace's sample a MONTH! Sounds like they did not give her sister much time to think about giving the sample. Wouldn't surprise me if they showed up without calling; told her they needed the sample ASAP & just did it. Similar happened to my MP case Tracie Vicent; her case worker didn't know LE went out; she found out from me! Tracie's family didn't think about it; they were in shock.
 
They are not hanging about with this, are they?! Hopefully we will have either a match or a rule out within days (or weeks at the most)!

I hope not , I wish Tammy jo's sister would join us, it would be interesting to see what she thinks, I certianly hope this is Cali, it would make sense why she was not searched for if the parents were deceased by the "internet age" and as for sisters, my sister and I both really did not get interested in finding each other till our mid 30's , I think it hits people around that age that "someone is missing from my life "
 
It does feel 'right' doesn't it?!

It feels as if LE are as excited, hopeful and eager as we are.
 
It is such a mix of emotions. As much as I would love to see Cali Id and reunited with her family it is heartbreaking to think any family has to find out their love one
especially a child died in such a horrific manner. If Tammy Jo is Cali I pray for her family. I see a strong resemblance and do think it could be a match. However, somethings do
not seem to match. I do not see the freckles on Tammy Jo. I suppose she could be wearing foundation. I agree a lot of the stats are off but appear to be given as
general approximations and not factual. I also do believe at least of the spots on Tammy Jo's face is a mole and that does not appear to be present on Cali. The nose is not quite right, but that could be explained by angle of Cali's post mortum picture etc. Just sad all the way around.
 
I can't quite let myself 100% think that its Tammy, because I have 100% believed in matches for various UIDs before which turned out not to be. However, I am very excited about this PM, very excited indeed.

Me too. So many can't-miss resemblances have turned out to be wrong that I hesitate to get my hopes up.
 
When I found out yesterday morning that Carl found a possible match to Cali, I had to pull up Tammy's NamUs profile. . As soon as I saw her picture, I felt that she is Cali. I have never really felt that before with any of the other possible matches like I have with Tammy. From making a few positive matches in the past, (and one waiting for a DNA comparision for 4 years) I know that height and weight can be off. I knew also with her picture being from a 1979 yearbook that her last date seen was off also.

I am thinking also that since LE didn't waste any time getting DNA from Tammy's sister, they are pretty optimistic too!

Some people on here may tend to disagree with me, and that's fine. I am just stating how I feel. I am hoping for answers, for Tammy and for Cali.
 
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