IN IN - Jennifer Schmidt, 19, West Lafayette, 6 Aug 1985

I have participated on WS since the original forum was established in 1998 or so to discuss the JonBenet Ramsey case, Last evening, my husband finally made his own personal connection to this site. Almost 20 years, and he finally had input about a missing persons' case.

He KNEW Jennifer Schmidt, as he was an Aeronautical Engineer student at Purdue and they were in the same group of friends. Early in his college education he and she were just in the Engineering classes, apparently. Jenn, as he calls her, went missing when he was a Freshman.
He remembers her going missing quite well, and has always wondered if they found her " or if she came home" he says.
Told me she was a very pretty and sweet girl, a good student, not a " party girl" type at all.
The strange thing is that I've never heard him mention another female student from Purdue in 2 decades together, or even another female, as he was so studious and career- minded that he didn't date until he met me in his early 30's.

She must have been a standout student, friend, or both for him to finally connect " The Missing" to his missing classmate so long ago at Purdue. They would be the same age now. He's 52.

I've gone around the world to ask: The NAMUS pages say her DNA is available, but has't been tested. How could it be that LE has not tested her DNA and entered it in CODIS?

That designation usually means the sample has been collected but the results aren't back yet. It can be weeks or sometimes months or years depending on what lab they use and whether there's a backlog. It can also be delayed by things like budget or paperwork issues.
 
Nothing new in any of these sites, but just for completeness:

Doenet: http://doenetwork.org/cases/2775dfin.html

NAMPN: http://www.nampn.org/cases/schmidt_jennifer.html

Charley: http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/s/schmidt_jennifer.html

NAMUS: https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/4822/0/ says she has dentals available but no DNA or fingerprints.

Bumping from earlier in the thread: photos at doenet and namus. The Charley Project link doesn't work any more since the site was reorganized.
 
Here are the photos from her doenet site for easier access...
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ae53f33f5c8bab4c4b24c1819f9d20d3.jpg
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f417716a71c1ce4a484da9ce3c480631.jpg


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That designation usually means the sample has been collected but the results aren't back yet. It can be weeks or sometimes months or years depending on what lab they use and whether there's a backlog. It can also be delayed by things like budget or paperwork issues.

Now I understand more about why they may not be actively pursuing an UNSUB at this time.
The POI, who is clearly named by Thewop356 in post #22 of this thread, this page, reports that confessed serial killer Larry DeWayne Hall has said Jen was one of his many victims. If this is correct, there's a reason no one's looking for him.

IF this is true ( and DNA testing of whatever is on file in her case might prove or disprove his statement), the main point which I haven't seen mentioned is that Larry DeWayne Hall is incarcerated and serving a Life Sentence for Kidnapping,
Not for any of the more than 40 rapes he is suspected of, or any murders, which are also believed to be a significant number, but he is " put away" for kidnapping.

For LE, this might be a huge deterrent in testing the crime scene DNA- or if they only have HER blood or other skin or hair samples collected post mortem. They know it's her, she's not an UID.
There's a lot I could not read about him because I have to stay away from kidnapping of young adult women/ violent crimes against same when possible.. There's a lot of what appears to be good links to him and photos and crime scene evidence and also his statements about his other victims. I could only read a couple of paragraphs due to my own traumas, so please forgive me.

I hope this case is solved so her family can have a measure of peace. If the perp. is behind bars already, fantastic. If he's not that man, I hope the case has resolution and is marked Solved and Closed, one day before too long.
God bless her friends and family on this Mother's Day.
 
Thank you for your posts and for the time you have spent to help Jennifer. I'm so sorry it has taken you back to places you don't wish to return. You are so brave for being here and doing research. Just... Thank you.

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I was an EE major the year after Jennifer went missing and remember all the fliers around campus. In 1987, I lived at Northwestern and Grant Sts. If you understand campus, you know that there is nowhere she could have been abducted by a stranger in broad daylight between where she was last said to be seen and any professor's office. Also, there was a really scary student on campus (probably more than one) who attacked me and friends when we were walking to a party one night. We didn't report it because we had been underage drinking, but I often wonder if he attacked others or went on to attack others. He lived in Terry Cts.
 
Sooooooo I went to Beavercreek High School in Beavercreek OH, graduated 1984. I had a friend who had friends who went to Carroll, the local Catholic High School and knew some of them through youth group. I moved away right after graduation but went to college where one of the Carrol girls i know also went. I took a gap year so started in fall 1985. Soooo that's when i found out one of the Carroll group was missing. I did not know this particular person as well as some of the others (like the one i went to college with). Anyway, in several recent years I have trying to remember who the missing girl was and find out what happened to her. I finally got a newspaper.com subscription and found her...she was Jennifer Schmidt. And here is her story right on Websleuths all along. For some reason i thought she had been found murdered but i see that's not the case. How awful. She was from the Dayton area but Beavercreek specifically
 
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I grew up with Jenny and went to grade school and Carroll High School with her, She was a great person, smart and destined to be successful in her career and personal life. <modsnip>

Could have been her friends from her neighborhood or other activity (like tennis) and not from school. Her disappearance was just awful and so many of us who grew up with her have discussed over the years the impacts it had on us. I cannot even image what it was like for their parents and brothers who I all knew to some degree..
 
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I knew Jennifer as a Freshman at Purdue. We lived in the same dorm. I didn’t know her very well, but think about her often over the years. She lived off campus that summer to take some summer classes. We had missing posters all over our dorm that fall and her roommate was so depressed. I always hope I will hear something that they figure out what happened to her and get some justice for her family.
 
Jennifer has 5 Unidentified Person exclusions:

Case Photo

Unidentified Person / NamUs #UP4778
Date Body FoundJune 16, 1987
StateOH
CountyLucas

Case Photo

Unidentified Person / NamUs #UP12683
Date Body FoundJune 06, 2014
StateVA
CountyNewport News

Case Photo

Unidentified Person / NamUs #UP6796
Date Body FoundNovember 18, 1985
StateVA
CountyAlleghany

Case Photo

Unidentified Person / NamUs #UP6629
Date Body FoundFebruary 03, 1991
StateVA
CountyFrederick

Case Photo

Unidentified Person / NamUs #UP1567
Date Body FoundJune 01, 1987
StateTN
CountyKnox
 

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