Identified! MI - Manistee, Lake Michigan, UnsFem 20-60, UP511, Appendectomy scar, one earring, Oct'97 - Dorothy Lynn Thyng Ricker

[cheemsg]

I guess the obvious question is: how was this woman unidentified for 20 years? Seems bizarre that the family knew she had passed yet never identified the body.

I suppose bc it was across states, they were in Illinois and I don't think they expect her body to show up in Michigan. I agree tho, she should've been in NamUs. The other one who got identified in Michigan this month, Daniel Gonzales, was also declared legally dead by his family and wasn't in any database.

 

[victoriarobinson642]

I suppose bc it was across states, they were in Illinois and I don't think they expect her body to show up in Michigan. I agree tho, she should've been in NamUs. The other one who got identified in Michigan this month, Daniel Gonzales, was also declared legally dead by his family and wasn't in any database.

I'll add that Chicago PD is very bad about uploading older cases into NAMUS.

 

[cocomod]

Seems police were a bit clueless here. Seeing her on the bench near the lake, finding her car abandoned, finding a body in the lake a few days later, but they didn't connect the dots?? So sad! R.I.P. Dorothy

 

[cheemsg]

Seems police were a bit clueless here. Seeing her on the bench near the lake, finding her car abandoned, finding a body in the lake a few days later, but they didn't connect the dots?? So sad! R.I.P. Dorothy

Tbf, the body was found on the other side of the lake, in another state.
Lake Michigan
This is how huge Lake Michigan is. It borders multiple states.

 

[cheemsg]

Is there a photo of Dorothy anywhere yet?

 

[victoriarobinson642]

Is there a photo of Dorothy anywhere yet?

None that I've seen.

 

[WingsOverTX]

Dorothy L. Thyng Ricker (1971-1997) - Find a...

Born in 28 Aug 1971 and died in 6 Oct 1997 North Waterboro, Maine Dorothy L. Thyng Ricker

www.findagrave.com

RIP, Dorothy

 

[MajorHoople]

Remains found in 1997 in Lake Michigan ID’d as Chicago woman

WGN - Jan 9, 2023

 

[wary]

Tbf, the body was found on the other side of the lake, in another state.
Lake Michigan
This is how huge Lake Michigan is. It borders multiple states.

But 1997 was well into the era of computers and DNA.

 

[iamshadow21]

But 1997 was well into the era of computers and DNA.

Jurisdictional blindness. Just over a county line, let alone a state line, and connections don't get made.

Sleep well, Dorothy.

 

[djanga]

New article with a photo of Dorothy

Remains of woman who washed up on Lake Michigan shoreline identified 25 years later

Michigan State Police announced Monday that the remains of a woman who washed up on a Lake Michigan shoreline in 1997 have been identified.

upnorthlive.com

 

[djanga]

A new better photo of Dorothy (from the video), she was so beautiful!

St. Francis cold case solved after more than 25 years

ST. FRANCIS, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The answers family and police in three states sought after for more than 25 years when a woman disappeared in St. Francis are finally known.Dorothy Lynn Ricker's forever 2

www.cbs58.com

 

[victoriarobinson642]

Perspective corrected.