LA LA - New Orleans, WhtFem 32-45, UP848, in vacant lot, decayed teeth, scar, Feb'02

[chaddylex]

Are you irish? My family thinks I'm crazy, too. I tell them it's the irish blood, and soon they'll be doing it too. I told them I'm going to teach the dog how to sniff out hidden bodies and start doing my runs in places where people have gone missing and they all just stared at me like I had grown a second head.

I am part Irish... I know I am at least a 1/4 hungarian...LOL and some German... people call us a Heinz 57...

I just looked at Dana's age when she went missing.. only 34... Going by her pics I would have thought she was a lot older... .Drugs are a bad, bad thing.

I hope you hear back from Mr. Someshoe about the possible match.

 

[Sleuthnewbie]

I hope you get a reply email soon Irish_eyes!

 

[Irish_Eyes]

Thanks, newbie!! I'm glad to see you jumping in! (We can use more eyes hanging out on the UID threads!)

 

[ebbie]

The one thing that sticks out to me...for what its worth, is UID description of having dyed hair with grey roots growing out.

34 is awfully young to be so grey that you'd see a streak of grey roots. And even if drugs prematurely age your physical appearance, I don't think they turn your hair grey.

My guess is the UID would have to be closer to 40 or older.

 

[Irish_Eyes]

The one thing that sticks out to me...for what its worth, is UID description of having dyed hair with grey roots growing out.

34 is awfully young to be so grey that you'd see a streak of grey roots. And even if drugs prematurely age your physical appearance, I don't think they turn your hair grey.

My guess is the UID would have to be closer to 40 or older.

My hair has very noticeable gray if/when I don't die it, and I'm 35 ((
(and I don't do drugs....) I think it all depends on genetics.

(Now everyone just pretend you didn't hear that!!!)

 

[ebbie]

I'm just thinking that for the grey roots to be mentioned that had to have been pretty bad.

And Irish Eyes do you REALLY have lots of grey or is it that you notice them and are then self conscious?

I'm quite a bit older than you and have almost no grey hair. And to make a stereotypical statement....the average guy would probably not notice any grey on me at all!

The reason why I have no problem with stereotypes in this forum is that the law of averages and stereotypes are the best bet.

Chances are, if you are 34, you do not have lots of grey hair....and chances are, if some guy was writing up a bodily description, he wouldn't focus on the roots if they weren't really grey.

Thats just my thought...




There are a couple unsettling things though..... The hair description is kinda odd....In one place it is listed as dyed red hair dyed blond or something silly like that.

The teeth description lists a number of "caries" which may be cavities? The poor wording and spelling of the hair and teeth descriptions make me think the work might not have been the highest quality (meaning accurate).

THe other odd thing is why would "exposure" ruin a body so much in less than a day?

And finally, don't coroners or whoever, take pictures of the deceased so there is a face? I thought I saw Namus list the UID as face recognizeable. Would make it easier.

 

[Irish_Eyes]

Hi ebbie...good points!

Yes, my hair is very noticeably graying . I stopped dying it in 2009 when I was 33 because I was pregnant with my daughter and I wanted to avoid unneccesary chemicals in my body. If I had a dime for everyone at work and church who said "Wow, you've really got some gray hair!" - I'd be rich (And isn't that what every pregnant woman wants to hear?? ) But it runs in my family on my mom's side. Quite a few of my cousins and uncles grayed early.

My husband is 40 and has no grey hair at all.

The wording of that "dyed red dyed blond" description drove me crazy too. It made no sense. I know that caries is a legitimate word in dental parlance, but I'm embarrassed to admit I have no idea what it means. But I've seen it before on other UID's.

Someone else here, Carl, I think asked the same question about the exposure. We've seen many UID's in much colder locations for that period of time or longer where that didn't seem to be as much of an issue.

I think the coroners do always take pictures of the face. I just think they don't always release them, especially the ones that are harder to look at. I know in the county where I live, the NamUs profiles often have no photos, but what frustrates me is they usually don't even have a sketch or anything to work off of either.

 

[Angie4b1g]

Caries = Cavities, basically.

 

[Irish_Eyes]

I heard back from the detective on the MP side today. He has been out of town working on another case, but he is going to make contact with LE in LA and get the ball rolling. So, now it's hurry up and wait. Hopefully I'll hear back soon, I'll keep y'all posted.

 

[bessie]

I remember when this Doe was found. Because of the location, I assumed she was one of the usual transient, drug addicted, prostitutes who wander into town around Mardi Gras time, many of whom stick around long after Mardi Gras. (I don't mean that in derogatory way. It's just a sad fact.) And of course, that year we had the Super Bowl here which is another draw for transients. The site where the body was found is across the Mississippi River from the city in a high crime area of Algiers. (If anyone's familiar with the New Orleans serial killings of the 1990's, some of Russell Ellwood's victims were from this neighborhood.) It's not a place a tourist would wander, and if she were a typical tourist, more than likely someone would've reported her missing.

The physical damage from exposure seems odd to me, too. I looked up the historical weather records for that day, and it was dry, with temps 48-60-ish. That was the norm for the entire month of February, with only a half inch of rain.
http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KNEW/2002/2/20/MonthlyHistory.html

Maybe exposure refers to damage from animals. That would be a strong possibility in a field only a few blocks from the river. Still, NamUs indicates a two hour post mortem interim. Exposure of any kind seems unlikely, unless the poor soul had been lying unconscious for a day or so before she died. The Doe Network mentions injuries to the nose and ribs, and NamUs reports no ante mortem skeletal trauma. I would suppose a drug overdose is not out of the question.

Anyway, just some observations. Dana does look like a good match, Irish Eyes. I have a feeling you'll hear something pretty soon, and hopefully Dana's family can finally lay her to rest in peace.

 

[Irish_Eyes]

Hi all

I had a response in my e-mail from Det. Sommershoe today that Dana Becker has been ruled out as a possible match to this Jane Doe.

Back to the drawing board! I do think we can solve this one someday!

 

[Irish_Eyes]

Wondering about a new possible for this UID...

Janet Luxford left home in September of 2001 from Jacksonville, FL. She was later seen at a hotel in Bessemer, AL, though it doesn't say what date. But I believe it must be between that date and 9/22/02 when she was reported missing by her daughter.

Janet is the right age range, and from Bessemer AL to New Orleans is 5 hours - totally doable if you wanted to go to the city during Superbowl or Mardi Gras time. Janet's hair color is listed variously as blonde or strawberry blonde, but there are pictures of her with it looking more red and also brunette, so clearly dying her hair would not be unusual for her. UID is listed as 5'3 and 110 on NamUs. Janet is listed at 5'2 and 110 on NamUs. One drawback is that Janet is listed with blue eyes and the UID with green, but depending on the shade I've seen where those could be kind of a subjective opinion.

Here is a side by side:

No mention of the scar behind her knee, but that not being mentioned on the MP side isn't necessarily a deal breaker for me. I don't think I know what the back of most of my loved one's knees look like.

What do you guys think?

 

[carbuff]

It looks good to me.

 

[EdinburghLass]

Wow! Looks spot on to me.

 

[micheleonelonly]

Excellent work, Irish Eyes! I think this is a very good possibility.

 

[Jerri Blank]

looks like a promising match to me!

 

[Dionysia]

Looks good, IrishEyes.

 

[chaddylex]

Turn it in Irish Eyes!

 

[chaddylex]

It also states in Janet's NamUs profile that she was last seen leaving with an unknown trucker... If this is her it could explain how she would have gotten to New Orleans...

 

[Irish_Eyes]

I tried to call today to the MP contact but couldn't get through. Orleans coroner referred me to Sept of health where many of the surviving records were moved post Katrina. Will follow up tonight probably by email