TX TX - San Antonio, WhtFem 18-26, 70UFTX, floral blouse & red shorts, "Cantu" written on cuff, Nov'90

[Friday Fan]

Thanks for caring about "Cantu". Was there sex assault involved? She was found Nov 1, 1990 and was another Halloween killing.

I'm from San Antonio and where she was found was near a place where you would find prostitutes. (410/I10 Interchange) And truck stops!!!! And a seedy motel.

This is a map from 1995.

I've noted where she was found. Blacked out buildings that weren't there. It would have been an easy for a trucker or traveler to pick her up at the truck stop and then throw her in the ditch along the I-10/410 frontage road. She was found in a ditch in a field. (Crops were growing at the time)

I often wonder if she was from Mexico.
Modern Pics also attached (Clearer images of roads and truckstops)

 

[FancyBotwin]

خرائط ‪Google‬‏‏

This is the exact location she was found. The ditch in the pic on google maps (the furthest you can go back is 2007) was at a dead end in the field, and had been like that at the time. There are houses in the distance in the woods, but I think this spot was probably used by truckers to umm...well...you know. (It's behind a truck stop, I used to live in the area, and I can assure you it's not really a place you would go to unless you knew where you were going).

Also, what if she hitched a ride, and wrote the name "Cantu" on the cuff as a clue? We used to draw on our pants in the nineties, but one word on a rolled up leg cuff could have been her trying to leave a clue because she noticed something sketchy, so she did it with a pen? A cuff on the shorts is not a normal place to write your name to id clothing, most of us would do that on the tag imo. (I would anyway.)

Curious if there was any DNA recovered that has been run thru codis in the last decade or if they do that intermittently, etc. Also, if there is a C-section scar (as indicated in some databases/descriptions) chances are there could be someone out there searching for maybe their biological mom who would have been born in the time frame when jane doe would have been old enough....so someone who would now be in their mid thirties probably, which would mean there could be adoption databases with potential children searching for her who were too young to even know she was missing, let alone their mother?

 

[dotr]

Here's a few girls who fit the criteria and are NOT ruled out, all of them have an abdominal scar. Heidi Zampell seems to be the closest match by far, but the timing isn't as good.
Heidi Zampell, 62-63inches tall and 110-120lbs. She was last seen in Florida on June 18, 1987 - interestingly her clothing hits extremely close to Jane Doe's "A maroon, flower print top and skirt " and "Scar on her lower abdomen 8 inches long"

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Lora McIntire, 62-64 inches and 106-120lbs. Went missing on March 08, 1990 from Oklahoma, scars on "abdomen and
right arm"

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Linda Grimm 62inches and 105lbs, went to the store and never came back. Disappeared on March 31, 1986
"Mole on nose by left eye, Cesarean Section scar on abdomen. Scar between eyes"

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

This top pic of Linda Grimm reminds me of "Cantu".
Linda Rose Grimm – The Charley Project

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[Friday Fan]

It's near a bunch of truck stops!

I've always felt there was a connection. Can't seem to screenshot arials at the moment.

خرائط ‪Google‬‏‏

This is the exact location she was found. The ditch in the pic on google maps (the furthest you can go back is 2007) was at a dead end in the field, and had been like that at the time. There are houses in the distance in the woods, but I think this spot was probably used by truckers to umm...well...you know. (It's behind a truck stop, I used to live in the area, and I can assure you it's not really a place you would go to unless you knew where you were going).

Also, what if she hitched a ride, and wrote the name "Cantu" on the cuff as a clue? We used to draw on our pants in the nineties, but one word on a rolled up leg cuff could have been her trying to leave a clue because she noticed something sketchy, so she did it with a pen? A cuff on the shorts is not a normal place to write your name to id clothing, most of us would do that on the tag imo. (I would anyway.)

Curious if there was any DNA recovered that has been run thru codis in the last decade or if they do that intermittently, etc. Also, if there is a C-section scar (as indicated in some databases/descriptions) chances are there could be someone out there searching for maybe their biological mom who would have been born in the time frame when jane doe would have been old enough....so someone who would now be in their mid thirties probably, which would mean there could be adoption databases with potential children searching for her who were too young to even know she was missing, let alone their mother?

 

[Friday Fan]

Cantu can also be Italian. Technically the Italian version would have an accent on the "u" but the Italian Cantu's I know have dropped it.

This is hilarious and very helpful because @CarlK90245 pointed out in another case thread that the originator of the Cantu name in Mexico was Giuseppe Cantu, who was obviously Italian. (From Lombard Italy)

This means that Cantu is a regional name, which helps to at least narrow down the origin of the shorts to a range of about 500 miles from San Antonio. (Surname Cantu originates from NE Mexico)

I literally had no idea that Cantu was Italian until I read Carl's post, because it is a very common name in South Texas.

I'm a little off topic here, but speaking of the surname Cantu ...

The surname Cantu in Mexico originates from Giuseppe Cantu, who was one of the early Spanish pioneers of the city of Monterrey in the 1600's

I'm learning from my work with the Ventura Jane Doe, that in Northeastern Mexico and Southern Texas, the surname Cantu is as almost as ubiquitous as the names Smith and Jones in the USA. I've seen ancestral lines where a Cantu marries a Cantu, and their children, marry Cantus, and their grandchildren also marry Cantus. I've seen similar lines with Trevinos and Garzas. With all that endogamy, it is a huge mess trying to sort out the genealogy.

Strangely, in Los Angeles, where I live, the name Cantu is very rare, since the majority of Mexican immigrants in Los Angeles originate from the Pacific side of Mexico

 

[Friday Fan]

I have access to the San Antonio Express-News archives:

From November 21, 1990

They had a "suspect" or "person of interest"

Jose Ascension Chapa (33)- Charged with murder of Linda Sue Eads who was found on November 17, 1990. Suspect worked at an auto shop I-10 East and W.W. White Road. Linda Sue Eads was dumped on the I-1o access road not far from where "Cantu" was found. In the Eads case, police spotted Chapa's vehicle on the access road and found her body.

I can't find out much about Chapa or anything about the trial. His appeal states he was serving 60 years for voluntary manslaughter. He was suspected in four other cases.

Other investigators, however, said one case involves the death of a "Jane Doe" found about 10:30 a.m. Nov. 1 in a grassy drainage ditch in the Cornerstone Business Park. Her body was found about two miles east of where Eads' body was discovered. The woman, who has not been identified, was found in the entrance to a culvert at the end of Center Stone Street by a man on a tractor mowing the grass. According to a report by Patrolman Frank Garibay, the woman appeared to have been dead eight to 12 hours. She suffered abrasions around both her waist and ankles. The report also stated it appeared the woman was strangled. Frank Castillon Sr., chief medical investigator for the Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office and Regional Crime Laboratory, said Tuesday a ruling in the woman's death awaits toxicology tests. The woman is described as Hispanic, 15 to 20 years old, 5 feet 1 inch tall and weighing 120 pounds. According to Garibay's report, she was wearing "red shorts pants (and a) black blouse with red and blue floral print on some short- sleeve blouse." The name "Cantu" had been scribbled in ink on the right leg of the shorts. The woman had a scar from a Caesarean-section birth on her abdomen, officials said. Sgt. Bill Turner said it appeared she had been killed elsewhere and her body was thrown over the bridge railing.


Screenshot from: Sign In | San Antonio Express-News Archives

Screenshot credit: Sign In | San Antonio Express-News Archives

Chapa's appeal: Chapa, Jose Ascension v. The State of Texas - Texas 4th Court Of Appeals Record - judyrecords

 

[JurassicParker]

Missing Person Case (namus.gov) Just throwing this person out there. I hope she gets identified soon.

 

[Springrain]

This is hilarious and very helpful because @CarlK90245 pointed out in another case thread that the originator of the Cantu name in Mexico was Giuseppe Cantu, who was obviously Italian. (From Lombard Italy)

This means that Cantu is a regional name, which helps to at least narrow down the origin of the shorts to a range of about 500 miles from San Antonio. (Surname Cantu originates from NE Mexico)

I literally had no idea that Cantu was Italian until I read Carl's post, because it is a very common name in South Texas.

I had no idea about any of that before reading the post. Very insightful! I learn so much from WS!

 

[John/Jane Doe]

70UFTX

 

[Springrain]

Bump~

 

[NeverPersonal]

Maybe the man who picked her up called himself 'Cantu' and she got spooked and wrote his name on her shorts just in case...

 

[ipa]

NAMUS showed an update today... with the drawing from 1990?

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

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

www.namus.gov

I've known more than a couple Cantus down here in central and south TX so it wouldn't surprise me if she was local/that was her name

 

[Hochman]

NAMUS showed an update today... with the drawing from 1990?

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

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

www.namus.gov

I've known more than a couple Cantus down here in central and south TX so it wouldn't surprise me if she was local/that was her name

It's Karen T. Taylor's reconstruction, I had sent an email to the regional specialist for Texas with a bunch of reconstructions in the Houston area and some other cities.

I had included the Carl K. recon, but i guess the LE was unsure about it.

 

[Friday Fan]

What was the update?

Was it rule outs?

I found out that Cantu is a regional name. It is actually an Italian name. A Cantu came over with the Conquistadors and settled in Monterrey. The name originates from there. So, she could be from NE Mexico too.

However, it is very regional because it is actually Italian..LOL..I know lots of Cantus and we had no idea it was Italian.

Much of Texas is from the Monterrey, NE Mexico area.

 

[Hochman]

What was the update?

Was it rule outs?

Added 1990 recon.

 

[Caring1]

It appears the update was a change of the recon picture.

 

[Caring1]

These are the MP exclusions listed:

Missing Person / NamUs #MP2413Tiffany Sessions
Date of Last ContactFebruary 09, 1989
StateFL
CountyAlachua

Missing Person / NamUs #MP5755Kathleen Meyers
Date of Last ContactOctober 16, 1988
StateDE
CountyNew Castle

Missing Person / NamUs #MP1100Hazel Klug
Date of Last ContactMay 20, 1986
StateVA
CountyHenrico

Missing Person / NamUs #MP8253Deborah McCall
Date of Last ContactNovember 05, 1979
StateIL
CountyDuPage

Missing Person / NamUs #MP974Patricia Schmidt
Date of Last ContactJune 04, 1985
StateVA
CountyHenrico

 

[Friday Fan]

These are the MP exclusions listed:

Missing Person / NamUs #MP2413Tiffany Sessions
Date of Last ContactFebruary 09, 1989
StateFL
CountyAlachua

Missing Person / NamUs #MP5755Kathleen Meyers
Date of Last ContactOctober 16, 1988
StateDE
CountyNew Castle

Missing Person / NamUs #MP1100Hazel Klug
Date of Last ContactMay 20, 1986
StateVA
CountyHenrico

Missing Person / NamUs #MP8253Deborah McCall
Date of Last ContactNovember 05, 1979
StateIL
CountyDuPage

Missing Person / NamUs #MP974Patricia Schmidt
Date of Last ContactJune 04, 1985
StateVA
CountyHenrico

I've seen her post mortem.
She is definitely Hispanic. She appears to be quite thin with an indigenous look.
Her being so thin makes me think she might be from Mexico.

The first thing I noticed when I used to cross the border was how much thinner they are than us over here.
She could just look thin because of facial trauma.

 

[scottishgal]

Hope she is IDed soon , noted this from Friday fan's profile signature on another thread.

Wish I could add something useful , the latest recon pic posted here in Aug 2022 looks very unlike the earlier one from 2021 and before. Why would it have changed considerably ?

 

[Friday Fan]

Hope she is IDed soon , noted this from Friday fan's profile signature on another thread.

Wish I could add something useful , the latest recon pic posted here in Aug 2022 looks very unlike the earlier one from 2021 and before. Why would it have changed considerably ?

The recon on NAMUS is from 1990.

Carl's recon is from a few years ago and more closely remembers her post-mortem.
She was thin.