CA CA - Rose Cole, 16, Oakland, 1972 - #1

[HeartofTexas]

Have you heard anymore or the more recent letters we didn't know about? I am dying to read those....to see where she was, what was going on, how her mood was...if she was feeling hopeless still or if things started looking up?

Christine, it's my understanding that Opal (the stepmother) has been unable to find the last letter so we don't know what it said, other than what Shadow has already posted here re China Town, her kidney infection, etc.

 

[Shadow205]

Concerning the last postcard sent by Rose: What is the Sunset Bay Bridge? There is a Bay Bridge running between Oakland and SF, but I have never heard it referred to by the name Sunset.

I ask not to be stickler to detail, but if there is a Sunset Bay Bridge somewhere else, that would be a clue as to where Rose might have gone after Oakland.

Dr.Doogie,
I know know much about California but according to Itreenw's post # 642 the bridge is between SanFrancisco & Oakland.

Christine2448,
The only information from the last letter from Rose is what I posted. She was in ChinaTown & had a kidney infection. That was the letter where she said she wasn't going to write anymore in fear of those at Synanon finding here. She did say that when she turned 18, she would find Opal. Opal hasn't been able to find the letter as of yet and may not even still have it. She said that she got that letter sometime in 1973.

 

[Shadow205]

Way back in the thread somewhere(I am not even going to attempt to find it), someone posted a Rose Cole that they found on the SS Death index. Her DOB was 04/23/56 instead of 12/23/56 and the middle name was slightly different. That has bugged me all along thinking that it could still be Rose, it was so close. Well anyway, I did some more research and found that the Rose call that was listed is not our Rose. That Roses SS# was issued in 1969 in IL.

Social Security Number:361-**-****Date of this report:May 22, 2006State of Issuance:IllinoisApprox. Date of Issuance:1969Issuance Status:According to the Social Security Administration,
this SSN has been issued.SSA Death Masterfile:ROSE COLE 8/1998

Just thought I would post this information in case anyone else kept thinking that it could be her like me.

 

[wondering22]

Dr.Doogie,
I know know much about California but according to Itreenw's post # 642 the bridge is between SanFrancisco & Oakland.

Christine2448,
The only information from the last letter from Rose is what I posted. She was in ChinaTown & had a kidney infection. That was the letter where she said she wasn't going to write anymore in fear of those at Synanon finding here. She did say that when she turned 18, she would find Opal. Opal hasn't been able to find the letter as of yet and may not even still have it. She said that she got that letter sometime in 1973.

Somehow, I have a hazy memory of seeing on TV a segment about a Haight Ashbury FREE MEDICAL CLINIC -- if I recall correctly, either the clinic itself is very famous, and/OR the founder(s) of the clinic are.

MAYBE it was the first of what later became low income "neighborhood clinics." It was located in Haight/Ashbury.

Frankly I wasn't paying much attention, as you can tell by reading my words; however, there probably are quite a few medical professionals still alive who volunteered their time there.

And Rose is simply so distinctive looking, that maybe one of them came into contact with her; MAYBE there is even an old medical file on her.

 

[itsreenw]

Somehow, I have a hazy memory of seeing on TV a segment about a Haight Ashbury FREE MEDICAL CLINIC -- if I recall correctly, either the clinic itself is very famous, and/OR the founder(s) of the clinic are.

MAYBE it was the first of what later became low income "neighborhood clinics." It was located in Haight/Ashbury.

Frankly I wasn't paying much attention, as you can tell by reading my words; however, there probably are quite a few medical professionals still alive who volunteered their time there.

And Rose is simply so distinctive looking, that maybe one of them came into contact with her; MAYBE there is even an old medical file on her.

Excerpt from the HA Clinic's website:
During the social revolution of the 1960s, the Haight Street Free Clinic was established to help the thousands of young people on the street in the Haight Ashbury district whose lives were affected by drug and alcohol abuse, mental and physical problems. With nowhere to turn, they found treatment and support when traditional services turned their backs on them. Since then, the Clinics have grown to become one of the largest multi-service providers in Northern California. Here's a link:

http://www.sfccc.org/sfcccclinics/hafmc.htm


There is also the Glide Memorial Church in SF overseen by Rev. Cecil Williams in the 60's or early 70's. It's non-denominational. It's a real church, not like a cult.

The church takes in anybody an everybody that needs help. Homeless, prostitutes, runaways, addicts and nobody is frowned upon. It's huge here. There is a shelter, a food bank, work programs. Many members work there in exchange for board/food. Rose would've been perfect since she had experience in food services at Syn. It's an awesome organization. I made a mental note to contact them a few days ago. My 'mental' must not be working again-I forgot to emai them (LOL). I will do that right now.

 

[christine2448]

Could we get a post w/all of Roses info together.....height, weight, hair color, eye color, any distinguishing marks, tattoos, scars...etc...anything that would help us that are searching unidentified?


I found this one, but don't remember all of Rose's info....tried searching the thread, but I am too busy at work!

http://www.riversidesheriff.org/coroner/unidentified/96052.htm


Did Rose have freckles?
This one matches in age also:
http://www.riversidesheriff.org/coroner/unidentified/uni-fe1.htm

The only thing that stuck out to me was the age here would match up.....does anyone know this info above I mentioned off hand?

If not I will search.

Thanks!

 

[Dr. Doogie]

Somehow, I have a hazy memory of seeing on TV a segment about a Haight Ashbury FREE MEDICAL CLINIC -- if I recall correctly, either the clinic itself is very famous, and/OR the founder(s) of the clinic are.

MAYBE it was the first of what later became low income "neighborhood clinics." It was located in Haight/Ashbury.

Frankly I wasn't paying much attention, as you can tell by reading my words; however, there probably are quite a few medical professionals still alive who volunteered their time there.

And Rose is simply so distinctive looking, that maybe one of them came into contact with her; MAYBE there is even an old medical file on her.

You may want to look at the Mission Neighborhood Medical Clinic which served primarily Hispanics in the San Francisco area. The were in operation at the time and still are in business. I know that the medical director today was also there in the early seventies.

 

[HeartofTexas]

Does anyone in the SF area know of a medical clinic that was semi-close to China Town? That's where Rose said she was when she mentioned her kidney infection, so it seems like if there was a free clinic close by, that would have been the one she would have gone to. Doogie's Mission Neighborhood Clinic may be the closest one for all I know.

 

[Dr. Doogie]

I don't have the link right now, but if someone google's the Mission Neighborhood Medical Clinic, they will find that it is linked to several free/low-cost throughout SF. Each affiliated clinic has ther own web page and probably have their histories posted. Someone can find out which ones were in operation in 1973 and close to or in Chinatown.

 

[HeartofTexas]

Thanks for the good advice, Doogie. I worked on California St. when I lived in SF, and I remember we just walked a very short distance to get to China Town for lunch... so my best guess is that it's this free clinic:

Name:San Francisco Free ClinicAddress:4900 California StreetCross Street:11th AvePhone415) 750-9894Fax415) 750-1966

 

[HeartofTexas]

Oops, upon further reading I see that the SF Free Clinic wasn't established until 1993... back to the drawing board.

 

[HeartofTexas]

Besides the Mission Clinic that Doogie mentioned above, this clinic (which opened in 1967) would also work:

Name:Haight Ashbury Free Medical ClinicAddress:558 Clayton StreetCross Street:Haight StreetPhone415) 487-5632

The Haight Ashbury Free Medical Clinic opened in response to the needs of the young people in the Haight Ashbury neighborhood, providing primary medical care, free of charge. A medical clinic where clients would come for quality, nonjudgemental and compassionate health care, regardless of their ability to pay

 

[welder 79]

I been watching this case from the start .. I really have to say each and every one of you that is helping work on this case has done a wonderfull job . i never thought we get this far in this amount of time..very good work

 

[Shadow205]

Did Rose have freckles?
This one matches in age also:
http://www.riversidesheriff.org/cor...ied/uni-fe1.htm


Christine2448,

I spoke to Brenda and she said that Rose did have a few freckles on her nose but not alot all over her face. If you look at post #653, it looks like there were very few freckles.

I seem to recall that Rose was rather tall, the first Jane Doe you posted was only 5'1". I could be wrong but it seems to me like Rose was more like 5'6-5'8.

 

[itsreenw]

I sent a copy of the flier on Rose's Yahoo 360 page and added some info about the case to several LE and coroners offices in the Bay Area, Glide Memorial Church and also to the 2 major SF newspapers-the Chronicle and the Examiner and a small SF community based newspaper.

I included her pics and informed them that the Marin County Coroner had dental records so they could compare them to Jane Doe's.

I tried to contact my ex uncle-in-law at OPD but he is not in homicide any more. He's in anti-terrorism somethin' or other. It's a shame that we have to have such a unit in a local PD. Scary!!

Replies from the above agencies should go to Rose's family but if I get a reply I will post here.

 

[wondering22]

Besides the Mission Clinic that Doogie mentioned above, this clinic (which opened in 1967) would also work:

This is the one I was referring to, it was famous then, and I definitely would encourage you to send info/pics about Rose to them.

Who knows what kind(s) of medical records that they MIGHT have?

It is worth a try.

Incidentally, the man who founded this clinic isn't all that old, I've seen him interviewed on TV.

 

[Shadow205]

In one of Rose's letters she mentioned that some people were helping her. She said that they thought that she was 19 years old. I am thinking that the people may have been part of the "Underground Railroad" that we have seen mentioned in research on Synanon. When I called the Point Reyes Light, the lady that I talked to spoke of a church who helped people who were leaving Synanon. I am going to make another attempt at talking with her to see if I can find out what church she was referring to. In the mean time, I am searching for any information that I can find in reference to the Underground Railroad. There has to be people still around who were part of it. Even if they didn't keep records of the names of those that they helped, they might be able to point us in some direction. Where did the people that they helped go?

Children assigned to Synanon began to run away, helped by an "underground railroad" to return to their parents. Beatings of opponents and ex-members, "splittees", occured all over the state. A Grand Jury in Los Angeles issued a scathing report in 1978 attacking the cult for its child abuse and for profits that flowed to Dederich, and also attacking authorities for their lack of oversight.
http://synanon.biography.ms/

 

[Shadow205]

Maybe this information is a starting point for finding information on the Underground Railroad:

In January 1978, Light reporter Keith Ervin reported on an unusual number of children running away from Synanon. The Gambonini family on the Marshall-Petaluma Road had created their own "underground railroad" to help the children get back to their parents.
http://www.rickross.com/reference/synanon/synanon5.html

 

[HeartofTexas]

Shadow, if I'm not mistaken, that family (Gambonini) helped the kids who were running away from another Synanon facility... perhaps in Tomales Bay or Marin County. For some reason I don't think they were helping the kids who ran away in Oakland.

 

[wondering22]

I wonder if people at Narc Anon helped her. I don't know how it's spelled, and I have no idea what their privacy policies are; however, it's possible that there are members of California narcanon groups who knew her back then. Plenty of people in 12-step programs keep up attendence forever & ever.