Identified! CA - Dana Point, WhtFem 23UFCA, 18-23, cliff jump, Sep'87 - Holly Glynn

[Ada Wong]

There's an image out there of a colored version of the composite. I don't know who made it, or if it came from any official source. Here it is:

I thought it might help give a better idea of what she may have looked like, and might help someone come up with possibilities.

By the way, I'm also definitely still looking for any thoughts on previously listed possibilities.

 

[Ms Suzanne]

I think she does look like Alison Marie Mims.Have you submitted this match?

 

[Ada Wong]

I have not. I was/am hoping to hear from others on whether or not they thought it was a good possibility. I don't want to jump the gun on submitting anything.

 

[Lady Stardust]

Case File 1587DFAZ


Left: Ihm, circa 1986 Right: Age Progression by NCMEC to age 42 (2008)

Rochelle Maria Ihm
Missing since July 13, 1986 from Phoenix, Arizona
Classification: Endangered Missing

Vital Statistics

* Date Of Birth: March 1, 1966
* Age at Time of Disappearance: 20 years old
* Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'3"; 98 lbs.
* Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Blonde hair; blue eyes.
* Marks, Scars: A round brown birthmark on her leg.
* Jewelry: Oval shaped sapphire ring with eight small diamonds surrounding the sapphire.
* Medical: Diabetic
* AKA: Rocky

Circumstances of Disappearance
On July 13, 1986 at approximately 11:00 A.M., Rochelle Ihm was last seen in the area of 6th Street and Washington Street in Phoenix, Arizona. Ihm, a San Diego resident who was a trained paralegal, had grown up in Phoenix but followed her parents to California, and had made a spur-of-the-moment trip to the Valley on July 12 to socialize with friends.
Robert Yama, formerly the Ihm family gardener, paid for her one-way ticket and picked her up at the airport. That night, she partied with other friends. Some of the friends later told police she was using illegal drugs. Ihm, a diabetic who needs regular injections of insulin, may have been at risk of an adverse reaction to illegal drugs, police feared.
However, she appeared to be fine the next day, mutual acquaintances said. Yama said he dropped Ihm off at the Greyhound bus station downtown about noon that Sunday. He said she planned to travel by bus back to California. She was never seen again.
Rochelle's mother said Rochelle was going to start a new job on July 14, 1986, but she failed to show up. Foul play is suspected in Rochelle's disappearance.

Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:

Phoenix Police Department
Missing Persons Unit
602-261-8042

Agency Case Number: 86096662

NCMEC #: NCMA1094007

Source Information:
Phoenix Police Department
THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC
NCMEC

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1587dfaz.html

http://www.missingkids.com/missingk...NCMA&seqNum=1&caseLang=en_US&searchLang=en_US

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/i/ihm_rochelle.html

 

[Ada Wong]

I don't think Rochelle is a likely candidate. She had insulin-dependent diabetes, almost certainly type one, and would've been without her insulin for a little over fourteen months by the time of the Jane Doe's death. Among the side effects she'd deal with from lack of insulin would be weight loss, and I can't envision her actually gaining a significant amount of weight following her disappearance.

Jane Doe was described as slender, well developed, and otherwise healthy. Rochelle most likely would've been extremely thin, fatigued, and likely in or on the verge of going into a diabetic coma.

Don't be discouraged though, and please keep trying. Hard work will one day see this young woman identified.

 

[zchick]

I think she looks a lot like Alison Mims!

 

[stellameredith]

Hey. I haven't been able to review the boards recently, but I did want to say that it's great that you got some response to your craigslist posting, Ada Wong. Did the response say how they knew it was Alexis or what connection they had with her?

It's hard for me to believe that any of the women presented in this thread were Jane Doe, because their records all say that police believe that foul play is involved in their disappearances.

 

[Ada Wong]

Hey. I haven't been able to review the boards recently, but I did want to say that it's great that you got some response to your craigslist posting, Ada Wong. Did the response say how they knew it was Alexis or what connection they had with her?

Nope. It was basically just, "I know who it is, and it's Alexis Owens from Port Orchard". There wasn't a lot of content to be had. Do you have an opinion on Owens' likelihood?

It's hard for me to believe that any of the women presented in this thread were Jane Doe, because their records all say that police believe that foul play is involved in their disappearances.

You have a good point, but there aren't really any clear indicators of foul play in the majority of these cases. It does seem fair to think that Darla Harper and Hazel Klug probably did meet with foul play, but the others seem to have vanished into thin air; the reasons for suspecting foul play in some of their cases seem to be things like abandoned cars, not showing up somewhere, and other things that are less tangible. While those certainly could indicate that they met with someone who meant to do them harm, none of them are outside the possibility of a woman who elected to leave her past behind and take her own life.

 

[Cymro]

Alexis Owens is a pretty good candidate - except she should have been an easy ID or rule out via fingerprints.

She's a little too young for the age range (but not enough to be a rule out) and she is a little shorter and heavier. That said she was only 16 and there's only a 2" difference, plus 23 lbs weight loss in 6 months is unsurprising.

The time frame would also make sense... e.g., Alexis discovers she is pregnant and has an abortion. Rather than address this at home, she goes voluntarily missing from Washington, heads to Cali and gets arrested for whatever reason - theft, prostitution, public disorder etc. Her due date is September 20, can't take the pressure of being alone, is messed up mentally, and chooses that day for suicide...

Complete speculation, of course, but there's a lot of logic to it. I see a physical resemblance, she is within the parameters of being a match, she's been named as the UID by an apparently unconnected source, and the timeline and geography appear to match. I may be missing something but what's not to like for a submission, except that she should be excluded already (but apparently isn't?)

 

[Ada Wong]

My thoughts on Owens were that she didn't have a number of traits the unidentified woman seems to have, and has traits that Jane Doe does not. The major issues I had were Owens' prominent mole on her right cheek, and her lack of anything resembling a strong jaw such as featured in the sketch.

I do see some similarities between the two. It's admittedly a little hard to judge based on the one picture of Owens that is out there, but they both seem to have slightly sunken eyes, and a somewhat similar nose structure.

Now that I've rethought it, she may well be worth reconsidering. Alison Mims is my current feeling of most likely though.

On an additional note, the Jane Doe may have never been pregnant. It's also stated that she may have simply undergone a dilation and curettage.

 

[JupiterAmmon]

The Jane Doe really looks like Mims to me. I have always been intrigued with this case, since the JD was found not to far from where I live. The only discrepencies that bother me are the time Mims was missing, and that they don't mention cut scars on the wrists of the JD. I would submit this as a possible match though, they really look alike!

 

[Ada Wong]

Alison Mims has now been submitted.

 

[JupiterAmmon]

Does anyone know if this Jane Doe has a NamUs file?

 

[Ada Wong]

She does not. Several of the more well-known unidentified persons don't have them, or have only recently received them, and that's always struck me as disappointing. Obviously no one can expect a system to work too well when a large percentage of cases are simply not in it.

 

[JupiterAmmon]

Yes, that is disappointing. I think it is important to add the well known/detailed cases, many of the ones they have on there have very little imformation. Does anyone else think it's strange that the JD was wearing men's underwear? Do you think this case should be updated to the "Submitted" status?

 

[Ada Wong]

It's a little out of the ordinary, but it's not really terribly strange. There are several reasons why she might have been wearing them. If she'd been living on the streets, she may have found men's underwear cheaper or otherwise easier to obtain than women's; she may have gotten the underwear from someone who was a romantic interest; or, there's always the possibility that she simply found them more comfortable. Women wearing men's underwear is one of those things that are seldom talked about, but actually happen quite often.

 

[JupiterAmmon]

It's a little out of the ordinary, but it's not really terribly strange. There are several reasons why she might have been wearing them. If she'd been living on the streets, she may have found men's underwear cheaper or otherwise easier to obtain than women's; she may have gotten the underwear from someone who was a romantic interest; or, there's always the possibility that she simply found them more comfortable. Women wearing men's underwear is one of those things that are seldom talked about, but actually happen quite often.

Ada,
Thanks for the clarification. I was thinking that men's underwear is cheaper than women's and that was the possible reason she was wearing them; but I was unaware that women wore their lover's underwear. I could also see the comfort point of view, alot of women's underwear seems uncomfortable ( I am a man). My heart goes out to this Doe, I hope her identity will be solved. I feel especially bad for unidentified suicide victims, and I am often intrigued by their cases the most. When do you think that match will be made/rejected? How long does it usually take?

 

[Ada Wong]

Unfortunately, there's really no particular timetable. It will depend on the busyness of the agencies involved, their willingness to cooperate with one another, how they prioritize comparing the match, etc. There have been cases on this board where matches have been done within a few days, and comparisons where possible matches have taken months to rule on. Hopefully it will be soon, but I'm trying not to get too anxious.

 

[Ada Wong]

I'm still following up on this, but so far nothing has happened as it pertains to the possible match with Mims.

 

[Ada Wong]

Okay, there is now an update of sorts. I warn you that it is not favorable, and that this post will be something of a rant.

I elected to submit the possibility of Mims through the Doe Network. I believed that their experience with law enforcement would be extremely helpful in helping the matter along. Unfortunately, I was very wrong.

I learned that they had dubbed the match, "Unlikely", based upon the purse that Jane Doe was carrying. They elected to jump to the completely unsupported conclusion that the unidentified woman must be the thief herself, and a sixteen year old Alison Mims is unlikely to be a purse snatcher in San Diego at that time; therefore, it cannot possibly be her.

I would post Rocky Wells exact words on the matter, but I wouldn't feel right posting someone else's private correspondence. I believed that Rocky could be reasoned with, so I responded thusly:

Isn't it also possible that the UID simply obtained the purse second-hand? Her clothing was described as seeming second-hand, and many thrift stores and other locations offer purses. It's certainly not a requirement that she's a thief.

He responded with three words, and stated that it was a possibility, but he believed it unlikely. I then responded with this:

Why exactly is it unlikely that stolen property would change hands over the course of ten years? I wholeheartedly apologize if I come across as hostile, but I truly do not understand. To suppose the unidentified woman kept and used a purse for ten years, one that she stole while a teenager and that had another person's name printed on it, would make her a very terrible thief indeed. I'd also like to state that most women do not keep purses for more than a couple of years at most, and that most purse thieves want the contents of the purse rather than the purse itself. To me, it doesn't sound like even a reasonable possibility that the woman herself was the thief.

After this, he responded that I had made my point, but he still considered it unlikely. He then brought up that reported eye colors didn't match, and that there was some distance between Mims' place of disappearance and the spot where Jane Doe died, and that's why it was unlikely. I could respond and state that I've seen dozens of successful matches where the eye color was wrong, that Jane Doe was known to be traveling, and that the distance between Phoenix and Dana Point could be easily driven in approximately seven hours, but it doesn't seem likely to have a point.

Right now I feel like I need to take at least a few days off of focusing on this case. If anyone wants to submit Mims directly to law enforcement during that time, they are welcome to it. I'm just terribly frustrated and burnt out for the moment.