SC SC - Fort Motte, Congaree River, Calhoun County Jane Doe 1971, WhtFem 17-35, UP61811, Oct'71

[Romulus]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Circumstances of Recovery: On the afternoon of October 21, 1971, two university students discovered a body floating in the Congaree River while they were walking across a railroad bridge. The body was that of a female and was caught on tree limbs near the train trestle. She was estimated by the Calhoun County Coroner to be between 17 and 35 years old and "probably white". The body was intact but bloated and wearing a blue skirt, one silk stocking, and a lavender colored slip. The Coroner estimated that the body had been in the water for approximately 15 to 20 days. Unfortunately, the original autopsy report cannot be located. The remains appear to have been autopsied, with the head and hands removed, presumably for printing and odontological analysis. After initial efforts to identify the body failed, the decedent was buried on Calhoun County property in a marked grave. These remains were exhumed in 2019 as part of further efforts to identify this decedent using NAMUS and DNA testing.

 

[GJKJR]

Bumping this thread.

1) 0 rule-outs, per NamUs.

2) Here is the approximate location of this Jane Doe's discovery per the coordinates listed on NamUs:



3) And here are some newspaper articles relating to the discovery of Jane Doe, though I cannot access them myself:

23 Oct 1971, Page 24 - The Greenville News at Newspapers.com
24 Oct 1971, 2 - The Times and Democrat at Newspapers.com
25 Oct 1971, Page 6 - The Index-Journal at Newspapers.com

4) Possible Matches:

I can't say I'm too confident on any of the following being a match to this Jane Doe, but they fit the best with the available statistics we have on Jane Doe.

Irene LaRosa: The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
Denise Kathleen Anderson: The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
Ingrid Angela Anderson: The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
Mary Ann Teresa Waite: The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

 

[victoriarobinson642]

The Doe Network: Case File 2795DFKY
The Doe Network: Case File 1956DFMA
3457DFMO - Dixie May Forrester
I'm not especially confident in any of these either and I wish we had more information
(I'm going off of original age reporting with these)

 

[PayrollNerd]

If you scroll down after the link opens there’s a PDF or an unformatted list of the stories.
The Greenville News from Greenville, South Carolina on October 23, 1971 · Page 24

I was able to pick out this and it appears as if there are misspellings probably due to the way it was scanned and converted.

Girl's Body Found In Congaree River ST. MATTHEWS, S. C. (AP)- The body of a girl, apparently a teenager, has been found floating in the Congaree river near Ft. Mnt.ta ahnut 50 Tniips southeast of Columbia. Officers said the body has been sent to the Medical Uni versity of South Carolina for an autopsy and possible identification. They said a man crossing a railroad trestle spotted the body in the water Thursday.

 

[PayrollNerd]

Another one:

The Times and Democrat from Orangeburg, South Carolina on October 24, 1971 · 2
Congaree River Yields Body Of Girl ST.MATTHEWS.S.C. (AP)-The body of a girl, apparently a teenager, has been found floating in the Congaree river near Ft. Motte, about 30 miles southeast of Columbia. Officers said the body has been sent to the Medical University of South Carolina for an autopsy and possible identification. " They said a man crossing a railroad trestle spotted the body in the water Thursday.

 

[PayrollNerd]

And the last one.

The Index-Journal from Greenwood, South Carolina on October 25, 1971 · Page 6
Body Is Found ST. MATTHEWS, S. C. (AP) Efforts are being made to identify the body of a young, girl which was found floating in. the Congaree River near Ft. Motte Thursday. The body was sent to the! Medical University in South' Carolina for an autopsy. j Officers said the girl appar-l ently was a teenager. Her' race could not be determined' because of decomposition.

 

[GJKJR]

The Doe Network: Case File 2795DFKY
The Doe Network: Case File 1956DFMA
3457DFMO - Dixie May Forrester
I'm not especially confident in any of these either and I wish we had more information
(I'm going off of original age reporting with these)

I remember seeing Dixie and Martha in my search; IMO they're possible but the circumstances give me pause. I haven't seen Wanda Reine's case before, but the circumstances in the DoeNetwork page also make me doubt it. Maybe unless Melvin's story was true?

If you scroll down after the link opens there’s a PDF or an unformatted list of the stories.
The Greenville News from Greenville, South Carolina on October 23, 1971 · Page 24

I was able to pick out this and it appears as if there are misspellings probably due to the way it was scanned and converted.

Girl's Body Found In Congaree River ST. MATTHEWS, S. C. (AP)- The body of a girl, apparently a teenager, has been found floating in the Congaree river near Ft. Mnt.ta ahnut 50 Tniips southeast of Columbia. Officers said the body has been sent to the Medical Uni versity of South Carolina for an autopsy and possible identification. They said a man crossing a railroad trestle spotted the body in the water Thursday.

Thank you, I didn't know about that feature until now! It's a bit difficult to decipher at times, but otherwise it's not too bad. I was hoping there'd be more information on this Jane Doe's hair color/weight, or any other details that were in the original autopsy report, but the officials overseeing this case probably already thought of that. Seems to just be cursory details of the discovery. The teenager detail is interesting, that would narrow down the age range somewhat. Then again, we also have 3 separate age estimates: 17-35 y/o, 17-23 y/o, and "teenager."

 

[PayrollNerd]

I remember seeing Dixie and Martha in my search; IMO they're possible but the circumstances give me pause. I haven't seen Wanda Reine's case before, but the circumstances in the DoeNetwork page also make me doubt it. Maybe unless Melvin's story was true?



Thank you, I didn't know about that feature until now! It's a bit difficult to decipher at times, but otherwise it's not too bad. I was hoping there'd be more information on this Jane Doe's hair color/weight, or any other details that were in the original autopsy report, but the officials overseeing this case probably already thought of that. Seems to just be cursory details of the discovery. The teenager detail is interesting, that would narrow down the age range somewhat. Then again, we also have 3 separate age estimates: 17-35 y/o, 17-23 y/o, and "teenager."

Yes, the unformatted paragraph is most likely due to a converter software. You really have to look to see the article. Sometimes it’s a PDF you can download and open.

They refer to her as a teenager which I would bet is based on looks and dentals - undescended wisdom teeth. She was in a stage of putrification which was probably hastened by the water. If at first look “teenager“ came to mind, then they did dentals, I’m leaning toward 16-18.

 

[theshadow45]

Fort Motte Jane Doe has been unidentified for 49 years today.

 

[theshadow45]

Bumping.

 

[PayrollNerd]

I see the autopsy report was lost but does that include crime scene photos too? Even a basic sketch from post mortem photos or crime scene photos would be helpful.

Now that DNA is a possibility, I wonder if she has been submitted to any genealogy group.


The body was intact but bloated.....

These remains were exhumed in 2019 as part of further efforts to identify this decedent using NAMUS and DNA testing.

 

[theshadow45]

Bumping for Fort Motte Jane Doe.

 

[theshadow45]

Fort Motte Jane Doe has been unidentified for 50 years today.

 

[theshadow45]

Fort Motte Jane Doe has been unidentified for 51 years today.

 

[FamilyHistoryDetectives]

Fort Motte Jane Doe | Genealogy For Justice™

On the afternoon of October 21, 1971, two university students discovered a body floating in the Congaree River while they were walking across a railroad bridge. The body was that of a female and was caught on tree limbs near the train trestle. She is estimated to have

genealogyforjustice.org

There is new information about her case that I'll be able to release soon. Anyone invested in this case, please stand by as we'll need to raise her story to help generate further leads. We're not home free yet.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

The body of the second unidentified victim, NamUs UP61811, also known as Fort Motte Jane Doe was discovered on the afternoon of October 21, 1971 floating in the Congaree River. Dean and Tina's family personally selected the cases of both young women.

"With the advent of forensic investigative genetic genealogy, we now have the tools to bring answers to so many families in this country," said FHD Forensic founding genealogist Allison Peacock. "Many have had to go without answers for years, sometimes decades like Dean and Tina's families did."

Dean and Tina Linn Clouse Memorial Fund Has New Non-profit Home: First Two Underwritten Jane Doe Cases Underway

/PRNewswire/ -- The families of 1980 murder victims Dean and Tina Linn Clouse are proud to announce that the memorial fund established in their honor recently...

www.prnewswire.com

 

[victoriarobinson642]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

These remains were exhumed in 2019 as part of further efforts to identify this decedent using NAMUS and DNA testing. Further testing for genetic genealogy efforts have revealed the decedent to have mixed African and European ancestry suggesting she may have been culturally labeled African American.

 

[FamilyHistoryDetectives]

Wow, I'm so impressed with the sleuthing WS users do on the cases they follow! I've been meaning to come back to this conversation to update her mitochondrial DNA discovery and got busy.

Thank you, @victoriarobinson642 for noticing that change in NamUs. It had only been up a few days when you saw it and posted it here! Yes, this young lady has now been correctly identified as having African American maternal roots. In several extraction attempts we have only been able to get enough usable DNA to identify her mtDNA haplogroup.

Please cross everything you've got for her. We've been working on extracting her DNA for several months and had to get out the big guns after several failures. Unfortunately, her head, hands and feet were removed for dental studies and fingerprinting and were most likely lost in a flood at the university used by the county in the 1970s. Without teeth or petrous bones, we are highly limited in available DNA-rich samples.

But we're not giving up on her yet! Think positive!

 

[theshadow45]

Fort Motte Jane Doe has been unidentified for 52 years today.

 

[John/Jane Doe]

Fort Motte Jane Doe | Genealogy For Justice™

On the afternoon of October 21, 1971, two university students discovered a body floating in the Congaree River while they were walking across a railroad bridge. The body was that of a female and was caught on tree limbs near the train trestle. She is estimated to have

genealogyforjustice.org