Found Deceased MI - Paulette Jaster, 25, Davison, 12 May 1979

Wow. Great, great job Houston Mom! Just amazing. Really illustrates the importance of thinking - and looking - outside the box. Prayers to Paulette's family. Such bittersweet news. May Paulette RIP.

Can we get a mod to change the thread title to Found deceased?

A "wrap-up" article by Ron Fonger, Flint Journal (MI) about how the final ID was made... Thanks again to everyone out there!
http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2014/01/police_news_three_freckles_hel.html#incart_river

Pbuck- while I am so very sad for your loss, I am gratified that you now, at the very least, have some answers.

God bless your family in this time...

Well done, Houston Mom. My heart and prayers are with you and your family Pbuck.

Pbuck said:

A "wrap-up" article by Ron Fonger, Flint Journal (MI) about how the final ID was made... Thanks again to everyone out there!
http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2014/01/police_news_three_freckles_hel.html#incart_river

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Very happy to see the guy that hit Paulette was caught.

Interviewed today by Jim Pinkerton, Houston Chronicle...article to run next week down there. Thanks again, Websleuths!

Pbuck said:

Interviewed today by Jim Pinkerton, Houston Chronicle...article to run next week down there. Thanks again, Websleuths!

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Will you please post a link to it when it runs?

So sorry for you PBuck, for your loss. Paulette was beautiful! I know you must miss her terribly, but I'm glad you found your sister. Your family will be in our family's prayers.

Good eye, Houston Mom! My best to you and Dr. D for your all your hard work.

Haven't heard any more from Houston Chronicle...however, abc12.com in Flint, MI ran a two part story yesterday. Hopefully this link will work:
Facial features, freckles, used to ID Davison woman missing for decades

Three freckles help identify missing woman killed in 1980
Associated Press
13 hr ago (02/16/2014)

HOUSTON – Three freckles in a childhood photo were used to identify a Michigan woman who went missing in 1979 and was killed a few months later in a hit-and-run crash in Texas, the Houston Chronicle reported Saturday.
<snip>
“It makes me feel like my job is worthwhile, and I’ve really been able to contribute to a family’s well-being,” Derrick said.

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The Houston Chronicle article by Jim Pinkerton apparently ran in Saturday's paper. I don't have a subscription so haven't read the entire article yet, but here's a link for those who do... Jim said he would mail me the paper.
http://www.houstonchronicle.com/res...sort=date&query=Paulette+Jaster&search=Search

Here is a synopsis of the Feb 15, 2014 Houston Chronicle article. The full length article describes the search and unveiling of the mystery surrounding what happened to Paulette. It also details the tremendous amount of Missing and Unidentified. RIP Paulette, you are in God's hands.

http://www.chron.com/default/article/Freckles-help-ID-woman-who-died-in-Texas-in-1980-5238562.php

Pbuck said:

The Houston Chronicle article by Jim Pinkerton apparently ran in Saturday's paper. I don't have a subscription so haven't read the entire article yet, but here's a link for those who do... Jim said he would mail me the paper.
http://www.houstonchronicle.com/res...sort=date&query=Paulette+Jaster&search=Search

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PBuck; how are you and your family doing? I managed to find a copy on google cache if you haven't read it yet! Freckles help solve a decades-long mystery

Google cache news story 2 - Freckles help ID woman who died in Texas in 1980 February 15, 2014

Very nice photo of Dr Derrick & Paula.
Already had this typed out before I found the google cache...

Freckles help solve a decades-long mystery - Houston forensic expert eases family's pain after decades



Three freckles viewable in a childhood photo helped forensic anthropologist Sharon Derrick and her team identify the body of Paulette Jaster, 25, who was killed in Houston in 1980 after being hit by a drunken driver.

By James Pinkerton

February 14, 2014 | Updated: February 15, 2014 12:16am
Freckles on the young woman's face solved a mystery that has lingered here for decades.

To continue reading this story, you will need to be a digital subscriber to HoustonChronicle.com.

Linking the tens of thousands of unidentified dead like Jaster with their living relatives is a massive undertaking, and Texas is playing a key role in the process. The U.S. Justice Department estimates about 40,000 unidentified human remains are buried or cremated in the country, and have created a database to help families find their relatives.

Want to share these FB pages. Pbuck; you should consider sharing your story with both pages.

Michigan for the Federal Help Find the Missing Act - Billy's Law
Texas for the Federal Help Find the Missing Act - Billy's Law
Every year tens of thousands of Americans go missing, never to be seen by their loved ones again. At the same time, there are also an estimated 40,000 sets of unidentified human remains that are being held or disposed of across the country. Sadly, because of gaps in the nation&#8217;s missing persons systems, missing persons and unidentified remains are rarely matched. The Help Find the Missing Act (Billy&#8217;s Law) is an effort to fix these problems and bring closure to the loved ones of the missing.


This legislation is named after Billy Smolinski of Waterbury, Connecticut who went missing on August 24, 2004 at the age of 31. Billy&#8217;s family knows all too well the systemic challenges in trying to find the missing. They quickly learned that while federal law mandates law enforcement report missing children, there are no such requirements for adults &#8211; or unidentified bodies. Compounding this problem is the fact that local law enforcement agencies, medical examiners, and coroners, often don&#8217;t have the resources or training to voluntarily report these cases. Finally, even when missing adults and remains are reported, the wide-range of unconnected federal, state, local, and non-profit databases to help match the missing with unidentified bodies, makes finding a match an often insurmountable challenge.


The Help Find the Missing Act builds upon recent efforts to address these issues by:

Authorizing, and therefore helping to ensure funding for, the National Missing Persons and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), which was created in July 2007 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to provide a missing persons/unidentified database that the public could access and contribute;


Connecting NamUs with the FBI&#8217;s National Crime Information Center (NCIC) in order to create more comprehensive missing persons and unidentified remains databases and streamlining the reporting process for local law enforcement;

Expanding current law by requiring missing children be reported to NamUs (they already must be reported to NCIC);

Creating an incentive grants program to help states, local law enforcement, and medical examiners and coroners report missing persons and unidentified remains to NCIC, NamUs, and the National DNA Index System (NDIS); and

Calling on the DOJ to issue guidelines and best practices on handling missing persons and unidentified remains cases in order to empower law enforcement, medical examiners and coroners to help find the missing.

Websleuthes "Houston Mom" played a large roll in this ID, thought I'd bump it for anyone who missed the story - very inspiring

StarrChance said:

Websleuthes "Houston Mom" played a large roll in this ID, thought I'd bump it for anyone who missed the story - very inspiring

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Thanks for the bump. Still amazes me how determined Dr D was to give Paulette back her name. Here is the Doe post

Thank you for bumping this. I have a fond connection with Davison, of many years ago, and this story fascinated me. I am so happy that Paulette was found, and her family has closure.

I had a great aunt and uncle, who lived right on Hasler Lake and we went there almost every year for vacation. I loved it there-a small town, wonderful people, fishing on the dock, water from a well (last visit was 1962).Still have family there, but never got back-know it is very different now, but it remains such a cherished memory for me.

I am so sorry this happened, and Paulette's family suffered so many years, but am glad they know what happened now and their beloved sister Paulette can rest in peace.

Pat

Thank you for your kind words, Pat. Interesting that after all this time my beautiful sister Paulette is still receiving attention and we her family are being blessed. In fact, we will be sharing her/our story in Wisconsin to a group of Coroners and Medical Examiners in April. We are humbled to be able to encourage others in this way, and in a way Paulette "lives on" for this purpose, so other families may be blessed with answers as we have. God bless all the Websleuths Community...we are all connected. Sister Peg

From April:

http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/lo...cle_f786abdf-6c75-59af-96cc-1e79b77f9bea.html

By 2014, online tools and databases were now available to aid in the search.

Sperlich and the other Jaster siblings began searching missing persons websites, including one called Websleuths.

That site led them to a woman Sperlich called Houston Mom, which was just a web persona for Debbie Saunders, a trained volunteer searcher who was expert at finding missing persons. Saunders had uncovered a potentially strong lead for the Jasters to follow, one that eventually led them to their missing sister.

On Jan. 30, 2014 at 4 p.m., the Jaster family finally found Paulette.

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