It interests me that her family theorized that Mary was murdered in Florida, which turned out to be true. I wonder if her boyfriend was responsible for her death or not.
This is just another reminder that isotopes should only be used as supporting evidence for a claim, not as a factor for exclusion.
Family lost contact in 1968 and she was discovered 17 years later in 1985. That is a long period of time. I wonder if it can be determined more precisely exactly how long she spent in her shallow grave. Also wondering if she did indeed live in Europe or if it's just another case of isotopes being incorrect.
I did find the unedited yearbook photo, and it does seem like Mary's features are softer, but it's worth nothing that this photo was taken when she was just 16.
1942-3
The yearbook record I found says 1944, but considering it's an estimation, I'd put a bit of wiggle room in that estimate. Maybe 1943 - 1945?
Ok. So somewhere in early to mid twenties when she loses contact with family. And when she was a UID they estimated her to be 30-50. So even on the lower end of that it would seem like there was a significant amount of time between estrangement from family and murder. Of course isolating a woman from her family is right out of the abusive/controlling boyfriend or husband playbook. Like @SimsGuy67 , I too would love to know what was the genesis of the rumor of her being killed in Georgia or Florida....which as pointed out actually turned out to be fact.
Who needs isotopes if you have DNA?
Which is why I don’t trust isotope testing.
Or completely disregarded.
Maybe some additional investigative work can help with some unanswered questions. MOO
