ok, totally agree with you. This is one of my long-time most-fascinating cases. I think she could very well be Maja Vojvoda,
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1433dfsvn.html
disappeared from Slovenia May 16, 1986, age 11...yes I submitted it, but no one seems to believe it likely. I am no war historian, but Maja was born in Yugoslavia, which was dissolving into separate countries in a long Civil War (Think "Bosnia") .Many girls and young women were kidnapped, raped, some were forced to become prostitutes...Some young women were sent to America to escape the coming war .Some looked forward to legit jobs; others thought they had good jobs lined up, only to end up as prostitutes. Man were given fake IDs.
I tracked down newspaper articles about Maja Vojvoda, and found out that by the time the search for her was underway, she could have been taken across the border out of Slovenia. Her own father made trips out of the country looking for her.
Remember that 81ufar was believed to have been in Virginia Beach...International ship traffic in that area.It is possible that 81ufar met and fell in love with McAlphin and saw him as her protector when he took her possibly out of a bad situation and into what looked like a better one.I found clues that make me think she's Maja when I watched the video...One thing was... If you look at 81ufar's diary entries, the way she puts the comma after the date, where it doesn't belong...could be English as a second language.Several reports say she was "quiet" .Could that be why?
There's a picture of 81ufar in front of a picture on the wall in a restaurant. When you blow it up, it looks an awful lot like a famous castle in Slovenia. ..There's a picture of 81ufar in front of hay bales. One icon of Slovenia is the hayrack. 81ufar is wearing a white dress with puffy sleeves. I found pictures of traditional Yugoslavian dress and it resembles one of the outfits I saw....I have only seen one picture of Maja, it is black and white... freckled? maybe. I do know that the hot sun of Texas and Arkansas can easily freckle a light-skinned person.Eye color, yes Maja's says green, but this was translated from Slovenian language. And eye color can change. And her eyes could have lightened from greenish blue to bluer blue. 81ufar bleached her hair blonde from brown or red. Maja's hair is listed as light brown. As for the height, yes she's listed pretty short even for age 11. I don't really trust what's been translated.But is she prepubescent?Just starting to mature? Maja was eating probably alot less and alot more limited choices than she would have been in America. In my mind, all that menu collecting could be related to that, too. Leaving Yugoslavia where things are getting pretty bad, there is still food but it's getting super expensive... then being in America, walking into even a simple place and saying, "Wow, this is great", thinking it's a luxury...
If you put Maja's picture next to one of 81ufar with her head turned the same way, to me her facial expression, her mouth looks the same and her teeth, too. I am trying to show that here, but it's not working at the moment. Will try later.
Sorry i rambled. Tired!
:seeya: