Identified! OH - Dobbstown, 'Belle in the Well' WhtFem UP6259, 30-60, in cistern, Apr'81 - Louise Petersen

[nerosleuth]

On the death certificate, the coroner estimated that death occurred 18 months to 2 years prior to the body being found April 1981 in the cistern.

If the coroner’s estimate is correct, it would place the death having occurred between April 1979 to November 1979.

During the 1960’s and 1970’s, a lot of LE agencies back then didn’t take a missing person report if the missing person was an adult. LE agencies simply told folks reporting a missing adult that the missing person was an adult that can go anywhere they want and LE couldn’t do anything about that situation.

I took a look at the DeLorme map of the Ohio back roads. According to the map, Greasy Ridge Road & McKinney Creek Road is a rural curvy back road deep in the hills of Southern Ohio.

I think it’s doubtful that a semi truck would travel on a curvy rural backwoods county road away from a main highway.

I also think it’s doubtful someone from outside the area would be looking for a cistern deep in the backwoods to dispose of a body. I believe it had to be someone who was familiar with that area, and probably lived or worked in that area.

There have been thoughts by LE that the victim was a homeless person or was a member of a motorcycle gang based on the clothing that was worn.

Two thoughts concerning the bus ticket and the locker key comes to mind.

One thought is that the victim could have been a drug courier that came from somewhere else. Another thought is that the victim could have been escaping from an abusive relationship and/or was a victim of domestic violence.

That could explain why the body was found weighted down in the cistern and the dentals in Namus regarding the facial trauma.

Also, the Jerry Falwell commemorative coin that was found was found with the victim could indicate the victim may have come somewhere from the Bible Belt region in the United States.

 

[webrocket]

in all probability this UID is NOT Linda Hamilton. I rechecked the profiles and Linda now has DNA on file (does not say where though) and the UID has both nucDNA and mtDNA with the Univ of Texas so I would venture a guess that these were not a match.

 

[traacker13]

here is an interesting possibility although the weight is off.

Jeanne Marie Scrima was last seen near Erie, PA in March 1980, was 5'3" and weighed 118 lbs. this interesting narrative is found in the DN profile:

Scrima's light blue 1977 Lincoln Continental was discovered abandoned several weeks after she was reported missing. It was seen in Ohio, and it passed through several hands in Ohio and ended up abandoned in Michigan on October 5, 1980.

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/947dfpa.html

here is her namus page:

https://www.findthemissing.org/cases/5498/0/

no reference to her having an overbite or buck teeth, although her front top teeth are visible in the DN page.

Webrocket - Do you know if Jeanne ever submitted? I don't see her on the list of rule outs.

 

[webrocket]

I never submitted Jeanne. if you care to, be my guest!

 

[fiberoptick]

There's a new computerized reconstruction of Belle on NamUS: https://identifyus.org/en/medias/full/18922

 

[CarlK90245]

Those eyes look creepy.

 

[tamar]

the eyes are poorly done.... no eyelashes & no crease in the eyelid makes for a very odd effect.

 

[EmmaliLucia]

Talk about "Dead eyes!"

 

[rcoope23]

What about Juanita Reedy from West Virginia. Height and weight are slightly off but her features look similar, though it is kind of hard to tell with the blurriness of the photo.
https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/13242/417?current_page=circumstances

 

[traacker13]

One of the articles posted here mentions that at one time LE thought Belle might have been affiliated in some way with a motorcycle group/gang because of the rubber bands on her arms. They said that motorcyclists sometimes use rubber bands to keep their sleeves from flapping around.

This made the wonder again about the amount of clothing this woman was wearing. If she had been riding on a motorcycle, that might account for the layers. If she had hitched a ride with someone on a motorcycle, she might have worn layers to keep warm.

I wonder if there were any motorcycle gatherings, rallies, etc. in the area during the time period Belle wound up in the cistern.

Motorcycles are more mainstream now, but in the 70's and early 80's there were a lot of unsavory motorcycle clubs.

On different note - was it ever mentioned who owned the property on which the cistern was located?

What are the chances that someone just stumbled upon a cistern while looking for a place to dispose of a body?

Also, one article mentioned the two girls saw something floating in the cistern, and this led to Belle's discovery. I wonder if the cistern was open, or if the two girls opened it.

I think I'm overthinking the whole cistern thing!

I submitted Julie Ann Derouin

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/2319dfab.html

as a possibility for this doe.

She is an exact match in height - 5'2" (or 63 inches)
She disappeared sometime in 1979 or early (January) 1980

I think she is a good possible match mostly because of her affiliation with the Ghost Rider Motorcycle Club. As mentioned by Marilyn (above) LE thought the UID was affiliated with a motorcycle club based on the two bands found on her arms.

 

[CarlK90245]

I was researching Joanna Jenkins looking for a photo for her no-photo NamUs casefile

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/23572/0

I found this article:

http://www.vindy.com/news/2005/nov/27/sheriff-lacks-resources-to-reopen-case/

An investigator believes the missing woman's body was thrown into a well.

OAK HILL, Ohio (AP) -- The sheriff in southern Ohio's Jackson County has a decent lead on a woman's disappearance three decades ago, thanks to information recently dug up by a retired officer who knew her.

What investigators don't have, they say, is the time or manpower to pursue it.

A private investigator has given the sheriff's office new information, but the case sits unsolved while the woman's mother has reached old age.

"We have a woman who is 78 years old. All she wants is to maybe find her daughter's bones and bury them, and they're dragging their feet," said retired Los Angeles County Sheriff's Sgt. Bill Reese, Joanna Jenkins' former brother-in-law. -

See more at: http://www.vindy.com/news/2005/nov/27/sheriff-lacks-resources-to-reopen-case/#sthash.8mLinjS8.dpuf

Hmmmmm. Oak Hill Ohio is only about 35 miles from the area formerly known as Dobbstown (now known as Willow Wood, Ohio).

She's a little too young (23) compared to the estimated age of BITW (30-60).

But nevertheless, I wish I could find a photo of her. None of the Oak Hill High School yearbooks are in Classmates. There's a Joanna Jenkins who was about the same age, and lived in North Canton, but she doesn't appear to be the same person.

 

[dotr]

Could the missing girl's Mother, or former classmates, provide a photo?
Maybe even a photo of the mother herself could help with identification? imo

 

[CarlK90245]

Could the missing girl's Mother, or former classmates, provide a photo?
Maybe even a photo of the mother herself could help with identification? imo

I'm thinking of calling the school library to ask if they can scan her photo out of the yearbook. I've done that for other MP's in the past.

It's August though, so school might be out for the summer.

 

[dotr]

I'm thinking of calling the school library to ask if they can scan her photo out of the yearbook. I've done that for other MP's in the past.

It's August though, so school might be out for the summer.

Late August many teachers / administrators start getting school ready and may have more relaxed time to respond to request, imo.

 

[carbuff]

Lots of schools start in August these days.

 

[CarlK90245]

I'm thinking of calling the school library to ask if they can scan her photo out of the yearbook. I've done that for other MP's in the past.

It's August though, so school might be out for the summer.

I got ahold of the High School admin office of Oak Hill HS. They referred me to the public library.

The librarian told me that their website has a section with alumni senior photos from all of their high school classes going all the way back to 1903!!

http://www.oakhill.k12.oh.us/alumni/graduation-class-lists

Shor'nuff, Joanna Jenkin's senior photo is right there along with all of the rest.

She doesn't look like BITW, though. Her teeth don't protrude like BITW's do.

 

[carbuff]

Maybe Joanna needs her own thread.

 

[CarlK90245]

Onfortuneswheel was researching the BITW case, and found an old 1979 newspaper article about Billie Lynn Groff, who at the time, had been missing for a couple of years (i.e. since July 4, 1977). He/She contacted Hubbard PD to inquire as to whether Ms. Groff was still missing. The detective verified that she still was missing.

Onfortuneswheel messaged me about this, so I created a NamUs casefile for Billie Lynn Groff (maiden name Cianciolo). NamUs Regional Admin Amy Dobbs promptly published it.

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/33479

She was able to exclude Ms. Groff as being BITW, and she is now added to the exclusions list.

https://identifyus.org/cases/6259

But thanks to Onfortuneswheel's discovery of a 1979 newspaper article, Billie Lynn Groff now has a NamUs casefile, and her case can get some new attention.

 

[kat913]

Round trip for all 3 points in a loop (Ashland Ky, Willow Wood, OH, Huntington, WV and back to Ashland...or anyway you want to do it) is only 1 hour and 15 mins.

So...my thinking (which can be quite imaginative!!)....maybe she left an abusive situation in Ashland, KY to "return" to somewhere safe in Huntington WV (family or Christian Movement such as coin represents) or maybe it was a dangerous lifestyle she was running to. Either way the locker may be a point of reference for her and her belongings until she returns back to Ashland.

It appears she had decided to return to Huntington (bus ticket) and therefore her troubles occured while she was in Kentucky. This is why I believe it was an abusive spouse...she never made it back on that bus. Perhaps he had childhood ties to that property w/cisterne and had been gone for many years and didn't think anyone would remember him being around. Grabbing a cinder block to bring along for the ride is a thought one would need for planning that location.

Or....she burned a bridge in WV and was caught in Ashland and paid heavily.

Bridges go over the Ohio River to Huntington WV and also Ashland KY....wish there could be billboards with her picture entering all three states. I know she was someone's daughter (but they may be used to her running back and forth and all around and didn't relate a death in Ohio as being her.) She may even have been someone's mother who only knows her as leaving them. I think the Ohio location may be throwing some off because she may have no ties at all to that state. Actually she may be from any state and settled in KY but used WV as a meeting point of some kind.

The one thing throwing me off is the panty hose...was she wearing it or did it come from her drawer or suitcase or was it someone else's?

Anyway just my thinking on someone so lost for so many years.

 

[kat913]

One last thought! Maybe she wasn't reported missing until years later...that would open up many possibilities!