OR OR - Portland, Willamette River, WhtFem 30-40, UP9599, Road Runner ring, clothes, c-section, Sep'93

[CarlK90245]

Not quite as tall but......what do you all think of this one?

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/c/cross_wilda.html

The resemblance is not bad.

There's nothing here to lead me one way or the other. The circumstances don't necessarily suggest foul-play, but the bit about her husband not reporting her missing tends to lead us in that direction.

 

[deca]

Just went through a MP list that Toronto PD keeps up of missing canadians. It looks pretty incomplete- does anyone have a better database for Canadians?

Nothing looked close to this Doe

 

[Ozark~Mnt~Miss]

The resemblance is not bad.

There's nothing here to lead me one way or the other. The circumstances don't necessarily suggest foul-play, but the bit about her husband not reporting her missing tends to lead us in that direction.

Also she had been missing over a year before this Jane Doe was found.

 

[VeryVeritas]

Pearly asked me to start this thread:

NamUs UP # 9599 https://identifyus.org/cases/9599

Unidentified White Female

Found September 07, 1993 at East Bank of the Willamette River, Swan Island, Portland (Multnomah County) OR.

Body condition: Recognizable face (All parts recovered)
Probable year of death: 1993
Estimated postmortem interval: 2 Days

Age: 30 to 40 years
Weight: 140 lbs, Measured
Height: 5'4" (64 inches) Measured
Head hair: Brown, 12 inches in length
Body Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown
Clothing on body: Aqua blue unlabeled sweatshirt, J.C. Penney brand bra, tan with flowers embroidered on cups, Maroon Cherokee brand jeans, size 12, Black shoe with black laces, "Pro Wings" brand., Seiko watch around left wrist. Road Runner symbol in black on a silver-like ellipse attached to a silver-like bands (ring) around the left ring finger., Brown elastic band with gold-colored glitter around right wrist.

Scars and Marks: Cesarean section scar on lower abdomen, C-shaped scar on back of left hand
Skeletal findings: Multiple healed right rib fractures

Fingerprints: Available
Dental: Available
DNA: Not Available
Comments: Body was cremated in 1996

Circumstances of death
On September 07, 1993, the body of a unidentified white female was found by workers at a nearby aluminum transfer station; the workers spotted the body lying face down on the rocky bank of the Willamette River near Swan Island. Some clothing was associated with the remains. Several newspaper articles were written about the body and the request for information from anyone who may know her. No information was ever developed.

Comments
File states that fingerprints were "run through several different systems and had come up with no results". Fingerprints were therefore taken and need to be obtained and inputted here.

1) What was the cause of death???
2) Repeated Rib fractures indicates what? Mountain climber? Falling off a horse? Or maybe an abusive partner? Why always on the right side? If that were due to punches the person was likely a southpaw... or sitting in the passenger side of a car and jabbing her while she was in the driver's seat.
3) The watch could have been traced to the point of sale, probably quite easily. This very likely would have led to her home town. How can it be that a body turns up (not knowing the cause of death, we don't even know if this can be called a homicide, but it seems that way) and there is absolutely no detective work? Ok, they didn't have room to save an envelope of these personal belongings, maybe their wrote down the serial number of the watch?
We know it was a JC Penney bra, maybe she bought the watch at JC Penney as well.
4) Is Oregon this stupid? They didn't save DNA? DNA was most certainly known about in 1996!
5) This woman had a child! She had a C-section. This means there are hospital records somewhere. From her approximate age, and analysis of the scar, a range of when she gave birth could be developed. Was there any estimation of how old the c-section scar was? She may have had a child 10+ years old already, this was 16 years ago since they cremated her. So today there is likely someone 20 to 30 years old whose mother vanished and may have been told lies about it. Where is this child now?
6) This location of the body, what does that indicate? If the body was there 2 days when it was found? Are there nearby bridges? Was the body in the water very long (or at all?) Was it near campsites? Was it near a major highway, or even some kind of road? Since we don't know the cause of death, we also have no idea if she was dumped here, died here, fell here, jumped off a bridge, or? Since it seems like it might be homicide, the perp apparently didnt' spend much time trying to hide the body. Why? An emotional, perhaps domestic event and hasty get away?

 

[thess]

1) What was the cause of death???
2) Repeated Rib fractures indicates what? Mountain climber? Falling off a horse? Or maybe an abusive partner? Why always on the right side?

Martial arts? Seems unlikely, but possible. I know a lot of women who are taking kickboxing lessons and such *now* but it was not nearly as common to see in 1993. Or some other contact sport.

Also it says "multiple", does that mean the same thing as repeated, or does it just mean she got hit good and hard one time (car accident, maybe t-boned on that side?), which caused multiple fractures at the same time?

 

[carbuff]

Martial arts? Seems unlikely, but possible. I know a lot of women who are taking kickboxing lessons and such *now* but it was not nearly as common to see in 1993. Or some other contact sport.

Also it says "multiple", does that mean the same thing as repeated, or does it just mean she got hit good and hard one time (car accident, maybe t-boned on that side?), which caused multiple fractures at the same time?

I assumed the latter, which would tend more to accident -- car wreck as you suggest, thrown off a horse, a fall while working on a ladder, etc. My daughter broke a couple of ribs when she landed sideways after slipping on the stairs.

Kickboxing wasn't big yet in 1993, but it certainly existed. Martial arts is a possibility.

Getting kicked while lying on the ground also comes to mind, though you'd think a beating like that would have left other traces as well.

 

[Ozark~Mnt~Miss]

I assumed the latter, which would tend more to accident -- car wreck as you suggest, thrown off a horse, a fall while working on a ladder, etc. My daughter broke a couple of ribs when she landed sideways after slipping on the stairs.

Kickboxing wasn't big yet in 1993, but it certainly existed. Martial arts is a possibility.

Getting kicked while lying on the ground also comes to mind, though you'd think a beating like that would have left other traces as well.

The one lady that was a barefoot water skier (The one who is posted as a possible match)...is it possible to break your ribs in that sport? I know nothing about waster skiing. Another thing that comes to mind is a horse kick to the ribs....just a couple of thoughts.

 

[carbuff]

The one lady that was a barefoot water skier (The one who is posted as a possible match)...is it possible to break your ribs in that sport? I know nothing about waster skiing. Another thing that comes to mind is a horse kick to the ribs....just a couple of thoughts.

I would think if you took a spill waterskiing, barefoot or not, you might well break ribs. Especially if you were into jumps or tricks or anything.

 

[micheleonelonly]

Here's a woman from New Mexico who was into jewelry making, and appeared (at least initially) to have disappeared voluntarily.

Edyth Ann Warner
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/w/warner_edyth.html
https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/657/0

There's a 2 1/2 year lag, and her listed height is a tad short, but she does have a very similarly squared jawline, and looks quite a bit like this sketch of the Jane Doe.

I think Edyth is worth submitting. There is definitely a resemblance to this sketch, but the other sketch is just SO different from the one that shows JD with a broader nose. It's weird how different sketches of the same UID can be... Edyth's hair appears to have roots that are a darker brown. While her hair is curly, it is so curly that it could be a perm. It was the 90's...

She's from NM, and when I visited NM, roadrunners were EVERYWHERE. Those guys just walk around, down the streets, in people's yards, sitting on fences. Places like old-town Albuquerque are full of stores that would sell artisan jewelry like that ring. And since Edyth enjoyed jewelry making herself, it is possible that she or a classmate made the roadrunner ring.

Anyhow, if JD is Edyth, I wonder what happened to her son, Nicholas. He would have been just 13 when JD was pulled out of the river. His father lived in Texas, and Nicholas missed a visit with him planned for Spring Break of 1991. A quick check of Namus doesn't show any UID males that strike me as possible for Nicholas from 1991-now.

The case summaries make it seem like Edyth was planning to run off for a little while, and packed some boxes and took a not-insignificant sum of money and gold. But why go so long without contacting her parents or Nicholas' dad?

 

[Neptune]

The only problem I have with Edyth is that her eyes are both blue and Jane Doe Swan Island's eyes are both brown. Otherwise, all other facts would be intriguing.

To me the sketches look like they are of different people -- wonder why would there be 3 sketches of 1 woman by 3 different artists (or 2)? And why aren't there File ID numbers on the sketches to make sure they get placed in the right file of the deceased?

Does anyone know the face sketching process? Gravity changes facial features when someone is laying flat. Are the bodies propped up? Do they go through quality control -- as in, no, sorry, sketch it again, that doesn't look like her AT all.

 

[thess]

The only problem I have with Edyth is that her eyes are both blue and Jane Doe Swan Island's eyes are both brown. Otherwise, all other facts would be intriguing.

To me the sketches look like they are of different people -- wonder why would there be 3 sketches of 1 woman by 3 different artists (or 2)? And why aren't there File ID numbers on the sketches to make sure they get placed in the right file of the deceased?

Does anyone know the face sketching process? Gravity changes facial features when someone is laying flat. Are the bodies propped up? Do they go through quality control -- as in, no, sorry, sketch it again, that doesn't look like her AT all.

This...although they all three have a slightly non-Caucasian cast to the bone structure.

 

[Ozark~Mnt~Miss]

I think it would really be helpful if there was a sketch of what she would of looked like when she was heavier. The news article states she had recently lost weight. Perhaps looking for missing woman who weighed more than what she weighed at time of discovery would be a good idea. I think a heavier person would not show the high cheekbones as prominently as the sketch. I have high cheek bones and when I get heavier my cheekbones don't appear as prominent as to when I am thinner. Just an idea.

 

[starmushrooms]

You might also be dealing with someone who hasn't been reported missing yet. I know it's a stretch after almost 20 years, but if she was murdered by someone close to her they may not have reported her missing. If she had little family or didn't make regular contact a gap of 19 years might not be a big deal. If she had a child, and a spouse killed her, it would be easy to pass off to a young child their mother took off and abandoned them.

Just ideas. The cases of Edyth and Nicholas bother me though. After reading through the reports I'm not getting the feeling she left of her own free will. Even if she didn't want to contact her husband anymore a woman trying to make a clean break would have taken her other child, or at least contacted someone in the last 20 years, even if it was her own parents. It also sounds like she had a good relationship with her ex, so no need to take the older boy and not let him see him anymore. That whole case just screams foul play to me.

Another issue I'm having with Edyth's case was that her new husband wasn't well liked by her family and after she disappeared he disappeared with the 3-year-old. Her family hasn't seen him in over 20 years. Where is he? Is there any information to say he is still alive himself?

 

[Ozark~Mnt~Miss]

Just wondering......could the scar on her abdomen be from a hysterectomy...or is there a difference?

 

[EmmaliLucia]

The one lady that was a barefoot water skier (The one who is posted as a possible match)...is it possible to break your ribs in that sport? I know nothing about waster skiing. Another thing that comes to mind is a horse kick to the ribs....just a couple of thoughts.

Very much possible to break ribs when water-skiing. I broke a rib from falling off water-tube (Or, whatever those things are called)

 

[elepher50]

September 07, 1993 - the UID was found on a Tuesday. According to the write up the UID had probably been deceased 2 days prior to being found which would mean the UID died on Sunday.

Just garbling here ....

 

[deca]

I believe that was Labor Day weekend?

I wonder how many people travel far distances for that weekend?
If she had a child, the child would have likely needed to be in school that next day.

 

[msthinksalot]

With the sketches, I think she looks more Native than caucasian, as well. It says she has brown hair and brown eyes, so that fits... she may be mixed. She may be of Italian heritage, maybe Spanish? Maybe Hispanic or mixed ... Brazilian?

Her clothing was inexpensive and didn't match (burgundy jeans and light aqua sweatshirt), and her shoes are very inexpensive... the type you would buy if you had a job that required black shoes and black laces. Food service, maybe? I, too, am wondering if she was wearing a work outfit. I don't get the feeling that she was traveling to Portland for the long weekend, but it seems to make sense that she wasn't connected very well to the community if nobody came forward to identify her. If her clothing wasn't a work outfit, I wonder if it could be donated clothing that someone would get at a shelter? The watch seems out of place with what she was wearing, and I'm wondering if maybe it was a gift or an inherited watch.

If she was on the older end of the age range, ~40, she could very well have had a grown child at that point... she may have placed her child for adoption?

I notice that she has had a lot of dental work, so that implies that at some point she would have had insurance or enough money to pay for all of that dental work. I wonder if there is a list of unclaimed closed bank accounts anywhere? (I ask because I once had an account closed on me because I didn't use it and only had about $50 in it...). Someone, somewhere, has to know this woman.

 

[msthinksalot]

I'm wondering if she looks a bit like Maria Sanchez. I cannot find any details about the circumstances of how she went missing, other than it was March 31, 1993. Maybe she traveled to Oregon for work? Or maybe she was taken here against her will?

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/9255/1/

 

[carbuff]

Maria Sanchez is slightly smaller than the UID, but within range. The faces look pretty close as well (see attachments). We have so little information, but based on what we have, I think this one ought to be submitted.

If she left San Diego to look for seasonal work of some kind, and never came back, that would be one scenario that would account for her being in Portland and family not looking for her.