TX - 'Lori Ruff', Longview, WhtFem UP9863, *General Discussion and Theories* #2

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I've worked out a more detailed timeline for Ohio, based on what we can see online. I'd guess that FLEK was born sometime between 1965 and 1969, perhaps in Ohio (but could also be another state for discretion), under the name Perkins (or similar ;)), birth parents named Laura and Kenneth.

Assuming she was born in wedlock....
 
Assuming she was born in wedlock....

That's the thing. I'm guessing she wasn't.

I'm thinking that she at least knew who her mother was, but may not have found the name Kenneth until she came across her sister's birth record (hence the name "Jennifer" in her notes) or parents' marriage record. Then she put the pieces together and concluded that Kenneth must be her father. When it came to changing her name, she did so to combine her parents' names (or those of the people she assumed to be her parents).

"She spent hours tracking their genealogy"---maybe she spent a few hours (or years) on her own as well.
 
That's the thing. I'm guessing she wasn't.

I'm thinking that she at least knew who her mother was, but may not have found the name Kenneth until she came across her sister's birth record (hence the name "Jennifer" in her notes) or parents' marriage record. Then she put the pieces together and concluded that Kenneth must be her father. When it came to changing her name, she did so to combine her parents' names (or those of the people she assumed to be her parents).

"She spent hours tracking their genealogy"---maybe she spent a few hours (or years) on her own as well.

One possible scenario I've considered is that she didn't consider the possibility that Kenneth could be her father and Jennifer her full sister until after taking the false identity---that was pre-internet and genealogical research could be a long, drawn out process. She would have been in a difficult position at that point---contact surviving family members (assuming her mother died in 1982) and draw attention to the identity theft (and return to the identity she had worked so hard to lose), or keep living her new life as Lori Kennedy Ruff? OR maybe it got to the point that shedding her old life outweighed contacting her surviving relatives, and she suspected from early on that Kenneth and Jennifer were relatives?
 
An interesting note... When researching the Legan family tree, I found mentions here and there on board discussions of Legan children being adopted out. There was one post stating a birth mother who was in foster care at age 16 had a baby girl and she was adopted out( mothers last name was Legan, and mother was in foster care because HER mom was institutionalize do due to schizophrenia).. The birthdate of the mother doesn't match Laura, but interesting....
They also had MANY children. I believe it was mentioned that Laura's father was one of 19 children?! Many of his brothers and sisters moved to Florida. There are pictures of his very tall and pretty sister Anne in Miami....( Cuban food anyone?) maybe, just maybe FLEK was " given" to an aunt or uncle to be raised and was told they were her parents? I saw where ft Myers came up as a " retirement spot" for the Legans ... By the way Kenneth was a twin!


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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21273287

Been trying to find the ethnicity of the family name.the facebook photo of LL looks Slovenian to me (a lot like me when younger, LOL). Came across an interesting study of the skulls and facial features of several "Turkish" groups, including one called Legan. Remember the turkish connection, Laciner? If I recall correctly, I found one in Turkey and one family in the Midwest. Need to go back to that thread when I have time.

Edited to add: never mind. Legan is not a tribe, it is a researcher or method.
 
I did research back to Laura's great grandad. The family immigrated from Slovania. The grandmas last name is German


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There are certainly a number of similarities there but the ears don't match, if you are saying they are related however, I think it could be a good chance.

EDIT: This was in response to Houston Mom
 
Yes, I was thinking related. The ears look VERY similar IMO. They hit at the exact spot on her cheek as FLEK. It's driving me crazy not to be able to post comparisons.


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I located at least one Female L from the Cleveland area who is 6'2" tall.
 
Ancestry.com Lori Kennedy Birth 1963 Lived in Tampa Florida

I can't seem to find what you are referring to. <modsnip>
 
Someone on the Who Was Lori Erica Kennedy FB page posted a photo of FLEK and another woman who could be related to her. She appears to be of Slovenian descent. Has anyone explored this angle yet?

Here's the link to the FB page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/487836754629522/

Yes. We have been asked NOT to post those pics here due to the rules of the board. This person is who we are discussing above in this thread.


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Ancestry.com
Lori Kennedy
Birth 1963
Lived in Tampa Florida
Check out her yearbook photo

Amazing what braces and a nose job can do. She should have wore her retainer. By pink hat photo her teeth moved back to when she was sixteen!
 
I just saw the Ancestry photo!
I can see some similarities between that photo and the photos we've all seen on this thread.
Maybe we'll get somewhere...
It sure would be nice to figure out the real identity of FLEK!!
 
This will be interesting to follow, if it does get followed up!
Someone is Texas thinks they may have found her: http://www.onthemedia.org/story/303719-help-solve-mystery/

I might be alone here, but I'm just not seeing the resemblance to any of the possible missing persons. I believe the key to this case is widely distributing the photo of FLEK and seeing if anyone comes forward. My hunch is that she wasn't reported missing, and the note page and other evidence is either meaningless or too obscure to crack the case. I was actually hoping that a podcast a la Serial might focus on FLEK...with better publicity, I'm sure more information will emerge!
 
Hello

The first time I heard of LEK is when I saw her Texas Driver license photograph on the news a few years ago. The photograph looked very familiar to me, but I did not recognize the name. Later that day I showed the broadcast to my wife, she advised the woman’s face did look familiar, but she did not recognize the name either. I quickly forgot about it.

Last week I was googling mysterious crime cases while I had down time at work, and ran across LEK again. The photograph looked familiar to me again so I googled her name. As I read deeper into the case on different websites, I saw the older photograph on the Ohio Driver license. I then realized that LEK was a girl I dated in the spring/summer of 1988. I showed this photograph to my wife, and she recognized her as well. It’s hard to explain how you meet people in life that make an impact on you, and we just take for granted that they are alive and well living somewhere on this earth.
I have contacted investigator Velling VIA telephone/email, and provided the information to him. He has asked additional questions, and I have answered them as well as I could. I feel like her family should be properly notified first. I believe the name I gave him was her real name, because her Mother called her by that name. I will NOT provide that name right now.
Around march/April 1988 I worked at an establishment with LEK in Irving, TX. I was 17, LEK was 21. LEK advised me she was from Northern California, and she was in the area visiting her Mother for a few months. I gave her a ride home one afternoon after work, and picked her up later in the evening to go have dinner.
We dated for around 3 months, and I had the time of my life with her. I want to make it very clear to everyone that she was one of the nicest people I have ever met in my life, and a Lady. She was definitely an introvert. I think we hit it off so well because I am an introvert myself. We really didn’t go out in public that much. We did spend a lot of time visiting with each other, watching television together, and cruising. LEK was very smart, and articulate. LEK was always dressed well and her personal hygiene was immaculate. She was also VERY modest. Imagine the smile on her face on that Ohio DL. That was the smile I remember, and she was wearing in quite often. She was an absolute joy to be around.
She didn’t talk much about her past, and I believe it was because she did come from a broken home. I know that she probably didn’t grow up having much. When she saw the house where I lived she, commented that she couldn’t believe I wasn’t “stuck up” like most people that came from that kind of neighborhood. I grew up in an upper middle class neighborhood.
It has been 27 years since that spring, and I have thought about her often. I am deeply saddened that she is dead, and it breaks my heart to think about what she was going through when she ended her life. My prayers go out to her husband, and child.
I have no idea why she assumed another identity other than she did have some family issues. She never did go into great detail with me on these issues.
I just wanted to chime in and kind of “take up” for her. The things I have read about her, makes her appear as some time of maniac. I know people change over time, and it appears she was having issues. The LEK I know was not like that at all.
 
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