Resolved MI - Blendon Township, BlkFem UP13687, 14-22, found in wooded area, Oct'67 - Name withheld

I emailed Lori Bruski about this case and she said that this is one of 300 cases on the exhumation list in Michigan. Unfortunately, exhumations are extremely expensive in Michigan and the funding doesn’t become available very often so we have no idea when she will be exhumed. Hopefully, it'll be soon and she can be compared to Adele Wells.
 
I was thinking of Adele, also.
But, whoever it was, sadly, it sounds like they were homeless, based on the layers of clothes and the makeshift feminine hygiene project.
Here is another case where it states recognizable face and yet there's no picture. Cameras were not that rare in 1967.
 
I was thinking of Adele, also.
But, whoever it was, sadly, it sounds like they were homeless, based on the layers of clothes and the makeshift feminine hygiene project.
Here is another case where it states recognizable face and yet there's no picture. Cameras were not that rare in 1967.

Your comment is what made me think of Adele.
 
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Recognizable face, Sadly no photo


UP17581 New number

AGE NOW 16-22


Case Numbers


NCMEC Number--
ME/C Case Number67-10200001/67-9403

Demographics


SexFemale
Race / EthnicityBlack / African American
Possible First Name--
Possible Middle Name--
Possible Last Name--
Possible Nickname--
Estimated Age GroupLate Teen/Young Adult
Estimated Age Range (Years)16-22
Estimated Year of Death1967
Estimated PMI30 Days
Height5' 8"(68 inches) , Measured
Weight100 lbs, Estimated


Circumstances

TypeUnidentified Deceased
Date FoundOctober 20, 1967
NamUs Case CreatedMarch 14, 2018
ME/C QA Reviewed--

Location Found Map

Street Address9481 - 48th AvenueHudsonville, Michigan 49426
CountyOttawa County
GPS Coordinates--
Circumstances of RecoveryThe body was found in Blendon Township in a field near 48th Avenue and Fillmore St. by Hunters. The victim was wearing yellow/gold slacks, pink Bermuda shorts and mens light blue socks with dark blue and red diamond patterns on the side. The victim had an extra tooth behind the right upper incisor. A white Rambler car was seen in the woods on a trail near the body dump site 3 days prior to the body being found. This was on 10/17/1967 between 9:00 pm and 9:30 pm. It is unknown if the car was involved.


Details of Recovery

Inventory of RemainsAll parts recovered
Condition of RemainsRecognizable face

Circumstance Notes


Cold Case Homicide, unidentified victim.


Physical Description


Hair ColorBlack
Head Hair Descriptionshort cut afro style
Body Hair Descriptionpubic hair present
Facial Hair Descriptionnone
Left Eye ColorBrown
Right Eye ColorBrown
Eye Description--

Distinctive Physical Features


Item
Description


Scar/mark
The victim had numerous healed scars: 1. right side of the face at the jaw line: hyper-pigmented scar 2. right side of the neck: 3 scars (all about 2 cm long) 3. left chest, below the clavicle: long 10cm scar extending toward the arm Other scars affect the upper right chest, the mid-sternal area (mid-chest), lower right chest, at the right hip, right outer thigh, left thigh

Other distinctive physical characteristic
A fully grown extra tooth was observed behind the upper right incisor.


Clothing and Accessories


Item
Description


Clothing
Yellow/gold ankle-length denim pants. Pink Bermuda shorts. Men's light blue socks with dark blue and red diamond patterns on the side.
On the Body


Footwear
None recovered but her shoe size is estimated to be
On the Body


Street view Google Maps


There is a duplicate, merge please.

MI - MI - Ottawa Co, BlkFem UP17581, 16-22, in field, multiple scars & extra tooth, Oct'67
 
Her face was recognizable after she had been dead for practically a month? They were also apparently able to retrieve eye color, something I've seen to be generally uncommon in cases with a PMI greater than a couple of days due to decomposition.

Based on the circumstances listed on the case file, particularly the sighting of a possibly-involved vehicle at the recovery site three days prior to the discovery of the body, I think there's a good chance that 30 days is a typo and the actual PMI is three days.

If 30 days is the correct PMI, I'm wondering if the body was preserved somehow, perhaps by way of being frozen, although I don't have any personal insight into what temperatures were like in Michigan during September-October 1968.
 
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