NY NY - NY, 14th St & 8th Ave station, WhtFem 23-33, UP6326, hit by train, clothes, backpack, Nov'98

[madamx]

here is another comparison of Valerie Smith with the Subway Jane Doe

 

[JayFletcher6493]

Sandra Stricklin
https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/1651/

 

[ghostINshell]

I wish there was some way to ever find out what was inside of her back packs and what they looked like.

Valerie Ann Smith
Height and weight match and so do eye color and so does thick hair.. I also noticed in some of her close up photos she has little freckles on her forehead like the Jane Doe. I posted more photos of Valerie on her thread. You can see them close up. Also in the photos of Valerie I noticed she used to tweeze her eyebrows but the doe still has them thin but looks like they have grown out.

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...y-Queens-4-March-1981&highlight=valerie+smith

http://www.nampn.org/cases/smith_valerie.html
Missing Since: March 4, 1981 from Long Island City, Queens County, New York
Classification: Endangered Missing
Age: 20
Height: 5'0"
Weight: 100 lbs.
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Race: White
Gender: Female

View attachment 112202View attachment 112203

Looks like a definite submit to me!!

 

[JayFletcher6493]

Sandra Stricklin?

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/1651/

 

[carbuff]

Sandra Stricklin?

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/1651/

Possibly, but since she doesn't have fingerprints or dentals, and DNA is only "initial query underway," there's probably nothing to do but wait.

 

[carbuff]

Updated link: Warning, post-mortem photo: The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Ruleouts:

MP402 Jodi Huisentruit 06/26/1995 Cerro Gordo IA
MP1100 Hazel Klug 05/20/1986 Henrico VA
MP2 Suzanne Lyall 03/02/1998 Albany NY
MP8253 Deborah McCall 11/05/1979 DuPage IL
MP8385 Nadine Timm 11/16/1965 Will IL
MP16945 Colleen Voitik McHugh 04/17/1994 Will IL
MP4471 Carol Wood 08/04/1996 Oswego NY

 

[madamx]

Updated link: Warning, post-mortem photo: The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Ruleouts:

MP402 Jodi Huisentruit 06/26/1995 Cerro Gordo IA
MP1100 Hazel Klug 05/20/1986 Henrico VA
MP2 Suzanne Lyall 03/02/1998 Albany NY
MP8253 Deborah McCall 11/05/1979 DuPage IL
MP8385 Nadine Timm 11/16/1965 Will IL
MP16945 Colleen Voitik McHugh 04/17/1994 Will IL
MP4471 Carol Wood 08/04/1996 Oswego NY

Thanks carbuff for the ruleout list!

 

[Jchester25]

Looks like a definite submit to me!!

If I did the math right Valerie Smith would have been 37 in 1998 so she would have been older than the estimated age, but it's a possibility! How do we submit her to have the DNA checked?

 

[houndpounder]

Call the agency in NYC that has the case.
CASE OWNER
NYCPD Missing Person Squad
(212) 694-7781

Agency Case NumberKNMP2548
Zimmerman OR

Email Lori at Namus
Lori Bruski, Regional Program Specialist
(817) 718-7904 | Lori.Bruski@unthsc.edu

 

[JSolt1210]

If I did the math right Valerie Smith would have been 37 in 1998 so she would have been older than the estimated age, but it's a possibility! How do we submit her to have the DNA checked?

From the information on Valerie Smith's thread, she "was last seen in Long Island City on March 4, 1981. She was depressed and stated to her father that she might as well jump off a bridge."

Of course, anything is possible, but I don't know. There's a sense of immediacy to those words that doesn't make me think she decided to hide for 17 years and then carry out her original wish on a NYC subway train.

 

[Gypsysoul25]

She looks like she could be a member of the Albanian Roman Catholic community.They have this certain look on their face that someone familiar with them knows.it is like a paleobalkanid/eastern meditteranean/south Slavic hybrid look.

NY has a thriving community of them.I should know because I happen to be a member of them

 

[Gypsysoul25]

She could have been illegal or haven't gotten her documents yet.she probably came here hoping to get arrange married but someone lied to her and she refused to be deported

These are realistic scenarios that occurs in that community.this was late 90s where that country has recently left the communist regime behind trying to enter democracy yet at the same time everybody who had any chance to leave were doing so

Family/clan/tribe honor is a serious problem in the community.many people try to get their daughters married off even if they are past their prime.that community puts a big emphasis on younger brides getting married more so than older ones.

One reason is finance.they feel like daughters are a financial burden.it's a common occurrence in many cultures

 

[Gypsysoul25]

When someone in the family doe s something that seems *shameful* to the community they often react by disowning their existence.maybe that is why she has not been reported.

Her relatives are probably unaware of her existence

Judging by Carl's recon and pm.she has what we would call a Malesor look.NY is a hub of Malesor.they often have a negative stereotype reputation among Albos when it comes to disowning relatives,sham marriages and covering up family drama

 

[Gypsysoul25]

It is common for people in the community to lose contact with relatives and friends due to personal life problems(i.e to be busy with spouse and kids),often times not every relative lives in the same country.some live in greece,Italy,Germany,some simply don 't want contact

some Albanian American men get wives from Albania because they think they might be easier to control and they would have no one to turn to it if things turn sour.being in a foreign land.not knowing the language.not wanting to be deported

she was most likely raised with the belief that a good wife is someone who tolerates the husband no matter how bad things turn out.it probably had an effect on her psyche growing up when her parents tell her things like*your grandpa would have been ashamed of you.he was known for *insert xyz*.a common thing that we grew up hearing among our regional community but interesting is rare among the mainstream Albanian society

 

[Gypsysoul25]

I won't give specific names but I have 2 distant relatives around this time who came to the U.S with stolen visitor visas done by some shady man in Serbia(they spoke Serbian cause many Malesor speak Serbian.

Malesia Madhe is a region bordering between Montenegro and Albania.many Malesor came to the U.S because during communism they were persecuted for not conforming to the communist ideals i.e giving up tribal traditions and for fears of treason i.e leaving Albania and going to the west.this was the cold war afterall

 

[Gypsysoul25]

It's interesting how it's been 2 decades and she has not been reported missing by a relative.

the community is insular. tribalistic.almost inbred even.it's common in the community to find someone who is related to someone twice.her relative(s) have probably been told lies about her whereabouts.if not then her relative(s) acted like she never existed or if they know about her then they purposely lied about her to neighbors/colleagues/other relatives because she apparently brought shame to the family

These are simply my two cents on what could have happened

 

[Gypsysoul25]

I wonder if she could have been of been associated with a bloodfeud.it's a common problem disproportionately affecting Albanians specificly the North Albanian Catholic community

Normally they would target a close paternal male relative but there has been recent cases over the years of women being targets too since the males who would be innocent victims of vigilante murder have a habit of fleeing either to cities further south of simply leave the country which makes the relatives of the
murdered man upset.one lady I met in 2018 personally had no idea yet daughter in law's cousin was in a bloodfeud.my immediate cousins are unaware of his wife's whereabouts since she was secretly taken into protective custody years ago so it's possible for something similar to occur decades ago

Post Communist Albania saw a concerning revival of bloodfeuds in Malesia Madhe

I have relatives who cut off contact with relatives that were in bloodfeuds for a variety of reasons.reason number 1 being personal safety

 

[Gypsysoul25]

I wonder if she could have been a member of the LGBT community.it's just a hunch.I do have a relative that is.his parents back home act like they 100% don't know

the community does pressure it's members to get married and procreate to keep the *Malesor* bloodline staying alive.it is not a LGBT friendly community

they urge young women to marry more so than men.

their have also been cases of people marrying someone who is 6th or 8th cousins for 2 reasons

1.The parents could have more disposable income and other resources for themselves once the daughter is out
2.The daughter would be someone else's responsibility

it's misogynistic and outdated but unfortunately this occurs even to this day

 

[Gypsysoul25]

Divorce is a taboo still in the community.many people are seen with a not so positive view when they divorce.till death do us part is a celebrated trait among the community members

Even a woman who is still with a abusive or unfaithful man is viewed as a strong respectable woman.this warped view on married life is not going away anytime soon unfortunately.I would even bring up my own mother into this convo who is lauded by her community members as a strong respectable woman because she did not divorce her shifty husband aka my father.my late grandmother's from both my sides are viewed as respectable women for not divorcing their husbands who were jailed(granted) they were jailed for politics not for heinous crimes is murder theft

One relative's wife was seen as a honourable woman for not divorcing her thieving criminal junkie husband

One last who married a cousin of mine was vilified by members of the community for divorcing her husband or as we call it in Albanian kthu konore(return the crown) and her husband was a cheapskate wife beater and cheater

 

[Gypsysoul25]

Many women are expected to stay widows after a husband died so yeah it's not a progressive culture when it comes to women's rights