Identified! TX - Elgin, Hwy 290, WhtFem 17-40, UP57657, "Evian JRS" shirt, Sz 13-14 jeans, Jun'79 - Kathy Ann Smith

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Gardener1850

Gardener1850

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NamUs #UP57657
ME/C Case Number 79-06-000688

Circumstances
Unidentified Deceased
Date Found June 21, 1979
NamUs Case Created May 29, 2019

Location Found Map
General Location approximately 6 miles east of Elgin Texas on Hwy 290 Elgin, Texas 78621
Bastrop County

Circumstances of Recovery
On 06/21/1979 on Hwy 290 approximately 6 miles east of Elgin Texas the remains of an unidentified female were found. The unidentified female was in an advanced stage of decomposition.

Condition of Remains: Not recognizable - Decomposing/putrefaction

Physical Description
Hair Color Brown
Eye Color Unknown or Missing

Sex: Female
Race / Ethnicity: White / Caucasian

Height 5' 0"-5' 2"(60-62 inches) , Estimated
Weight90-130 lbs, Estimated

Estimated Age Group: Adult - Pre 30
Estimated Age Range (Years) 17-40
Estimated Year of Death 1979

Clothing
located dressed in white pullover shirt with red trim around the neck, shirt labeled "Evian JRS" brand and dark colored blue jeans with no label. The blue jeans did have a tag that read "styled in California, size 13-14"

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
 
"Authorities on Wednesday exhumed partial remains of a woman buried in an Elgin cemetery nearly four decades ago and hope to learn the name of the “Jane Doe.”

Bastrop County District Attorney Bryan Goertz said officials think the woman may have been hit by a car on Texas 95 between Bastrop and Elgin. Her cause of death could not be determined at the time because her body was badly decomposed.

Officials said they are hoping to obtain enough evidence to possibly build a DNA profile of the woman and locate her family. Law enforcement officials also want to rule out the possibility that her death was linked to serial killer Henry Lee Lucas, although they say they have no evidence that leads them to think so."
Bastrop officials try to learn identity of woman 40 years later

Another article:
Body exhumed in Bastrop Co. 39 years after mysterious burial
 
I believe these articles are referencing the same case but some of the LE comments are quite different. In the first article linked below there's mention of a supposed confession by someone in custody and that an outside agency believes the UID could be a victim of H. L. Lucas. The other story states they believe she may have been hit by a car, but LE wants to ruleout the Lucas connection even though there's "no evidence that leads them to think so". A supposed confession of someone in custody would be considered evidence usually, although not hard, physical evidence. I wonder why they think she was hit by a car? Perhaps the location she was found and the broken pelvis? Just odd to me that the stories (theories) seem so different.

I've not followed the Lucas cases. What's his MO? Does he hit vics with cars or travel with them any lengthy distance? I'll be watching this interesting case as it develops. Whomever she is I hope the mystery surrounding her death is soon solved so some sort of peace and comfort comes to her family/friends.

Bastrop County investigators, anthropologists working to ID woman found dead 40 years ago

Bastrop County law enforcement officials are relaunching an investigation into the identity of the woman, whose badly decomposed body was discovered along U.S. 290 east of Elgin by law enforcement officers 40 years ago. An autopsy on the body was performed by the Travis County Medical Examiner’s office at the time, but there was no finding on the cause of death nor on her identity.

SNIP

Details surround Jane Doe’s death are scarce. Investigators determined her sex based off the morphology of the skeleton’s pelvis, which they said was broken at the time they found her body.

In 1984, five years after the bones were discovered, Texas Rangers and Bastrop County sheriff investigators reopened the case after someone in their custody confessed to the woman’s murder, according to an inquest order executed earlier this month. That defendant divulged details of the body’s condition and location “to sufficiently convince law enforcement at the time that he was the party responsible for the death,” the district attorney office’s motion for inquest read.

SNIP

Cook said that investigators aren’t suitably confident in the veracity of that confession,

SNIP

the outside agency is speculating that Jane Doe’s death may be linked to the notorious serial killer Henry Lee Lucas,

Bastrop officials try to learn identity of woman 40 years later

officials think the woman may have been hit by a car on Texas 95 between Bastrop and Elgin.

SNIP

Law enforcement officials also want to rule out the possibility that her death was linked to serial killer Henry Lee Lucas, although they say they have no evidence that leads them to think so.
 
YaYa 521: start with his Wikipedia article. While he definitely killed some people he also confessed to killing a massive number of others whom he didn't kill.
Henry Lee Lucas - Wikipedia

This was apparently a win-win: Henry Lucas reportedly received preferential treatment rarely offered to convicts, being frequently taken to restaurants and cafés and improved living conditions for doing this while LE got public praise for clearing cases.
 
PastTense said:
YaYa 521: start with his Wikipedia article. While he definitely killed some people he also confessed to killing a massive number of others whom he didn't kill.
Henry Lee Lucas - Wikipedia

This was apparently a win-win: Henry Lucas reportedly received preferential treatment rarely offered to convicts, being frequently taken to restaurants and cafés and improved living conditions for doing this while LE got public praise for clearing cases.
Click to expand...

TY, PastTense! Now I think I understand why one official's comment seemed as though it was an attempt to distance the investigation away from Lucas and the supposed confession. I hope they succeed in their efforts to identify her. Doing so most likely will be able to answer lots of lingering questions.

Thanks again.
 
The Doe Network: Case File 1506DFTX

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Original

​
I would imagine that LE investigated whether these remains belong to Pinkie Mae Davis-Herron. She disappeared just 30 mins. away from Del Valle, TX in January 1979. She was driving, not walking (LE believes the UID may have been hit by a car), and headed toward a motel. I wonder who she went to meet (if anyone) or whether someone carjacked her then drove 30 mins away to Elgin where they forced her out of the car? At that point the carjacker or a driver of another vehicle could have run her over then continued on their way.

Neither of her profiles mention whether or where her car was ever located nor what she was last seen wearing, except for a ring which isn't mentioned for the UID. The remains were found in an advanced state of decomp and 6 spring and early summer months in Texas would certainly be enough time for adv. decomp., if not more depending on temps/weather conditions that specific year. All other descriptors except "caucasian/white" match fairly well, imo.

I wonder if she was ruled out as a match or if they simply assumed a "no" due to the discrepancy in race. We've seen those errors affect the investigations of UID cases before so it wouldn't surprise me if this is the case here too. Whomever it is, I hope they get her home soon. She's been missing way too long.
 
mpDetails
m8702001.jpg

Name: Sophia Felicita Moreno
AKA: Sophie, Nina, Felecita Herrera
Case Number: M8702001
Case Type: Endangered - Foul Play Possible

Height: 5' 3 "
Date of Birth: 10/22/1962
Eye Color: Brown
Race: White/Hispanic

Weight: 130 lbs.
Age Missing: 16
Hair Color: Brown
Sex: Female

Last Seen in: Bryan (Brazos)
State Missing From: Texas
Country Missing From: USA
Last Seen on: 05/11/1979

Circumstances: Sophia has a burn scar on her left leg, a birthmark on one knee, a tattoo on her left hand between her first finger and thumb which reads "A.H." and a tattoo of a cross on her right hand. Sophia was last seen at a washateria, at which time she informed her mother she would attend a family celebration later that week.
#

I wonder where this family celebration was supposed to take place? She went missing 1 hour 15 mins from the location Jane Doe was found. Stats match up pretty good too. I wish there were pics of Jane Doe.
 
Jan 15 2023
www.fox7austin.com

Advanced DNA technology may help solve 1979 Bastrop County cold case

The Bastrop County Sheriff's Office is partnering with DNA testing company Othram to try and identify a Jane Doe found in 1979. Investigators say they want to rule out a connection to serial killer Henry Lee Lucas.
www.fox7austin.com www.fox7austin.com
''BASTROP COUNTY, Texas - The Bastrop County Sheriff's Office is trying to solve a decades-old cold case with the help of advanced DNA testing technology.

They're trying to identify the body of a "Jane Doe" discovered in 1979 on US 290 east of Elgin. Detectives say in 2019, a documentary filmmaker contacted the Sheriff's Office about a possible connection with serial killer Henry Lee Lucas.''

''Funding comes from different sources like crowdfunding, philanthropists, or sponsorships. The goal is to raise $7,500 for the case of Bastrop County Jane Doe.

"New technology has got to make its way into the budgets," Mittelman said. "It bridges that gap between when they can get funded and now so we can still help families."

He says their lab is the only one of its kind in North America.

"We can access information from evidence that's been previously considered unusable or unworkable," he said.''
 
othram said:
SOLVED: After 44 years, Bastrop County Jane Doe (1979) is Identified
Click to expand...
Awesome Othram!
1690491513524.png
''In September 2022, the Bastrop County Sheriff’s Office partnered with Othram to determine if advanced DNA testing could help establish an identity for the woman. Law enforcement officials also want to rule out the possibility that her death was linked to serial killer Henry Lee Lucas, who had previously confessed to the woman’s murder. Skeletal remains from the second exhumation were sent to Othram and Othram scientists developed a suitable DNA extract from the remains. Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® was used to develop a comprehensive DNA profile for the unknown woman.

33a44aea-2ca4-11ee-b4bc-0242ac150003.jpg
The Bastrop County Sheriff’s Office and the Bastrop County District Attorney’s Office contributed to the costs of DNA testing and genealogical research, and the rest of the funding was raised using a DNASolves Crowdfund. We are grateful to everyone that helped us crowdfund the necessary funds to complete the case.

In January 2023, Othram's in-house genetic genealogy team used the DNA profile in a forensic genetic genealogy search. In April 2023, the team produced investigative leads that were returned to law enforcement. The Bastrop County Sheriff's Office continued the investigation and completed a family tree and was able to confirm the identity of the unknown woman. The woman is now known to be Kathy Ann Smith, born July 19, 1956. Kathy was born with a different name and adopted young in life. The family of Kathy Smith has been notified of the location of her remains.

An investigation into her death continues and anyone with information regarding the case is encouraged to contact the Bastrop County Sheriff’s Office at 512-549-5100. Please reference case 79-06-000688.''
 
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