Identified! NV - Las Vegas, 'Sahara Sue', WhtFem 17-25, UP159, dentures, jewelry, clothes, Aug'79 - Gwenn Marie Story

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I have sent this into the Clark County coroner. I will let you know if they respond!
 
oh I hope they respond!!! I think there was another case that had a good match to turn in to clark county coroner but I dont think the thread here ever got an update.... just hope they really look into these possible matches!

but I know a few people who had full dentures when they were very young.. My grandma in law blames it on bad genes but a accident of some sort could of caused the need for dentures too! In some cases its just cheapr to have all your teeth ripped out rather than repaired
 
You may have to do all the follow up with clark county...I have dealt with them before, and initially they are great, but they are so busy that everyone falls through the proverbial cracks, if you don't stay on top of it...good luck, hope it works well, great job
 
Although this isn't the outcome we were hoping for, I did get a very quick response from Clark County coroner investigator, Rick Jones. He has passed on some helpful information and I told him to feel free to contact us anytime he feels we can be of help. Below is his response to our submission:

*advertiser censored*, thank you for the submission. I have been searching sites for years looking for young women with dentures on this case (very few found with dentures at young ages). We checked her several years ago by fingerprints and ruled her out. Thank you and please keep searching. Rick

In case you have not seen this new site of unidentifieds - they are trying to get all of the Coroner's Offices in the country to input their unidentified cases. It is called NAMEUS. Their site is; http://www.identifyus.org/

We put our cases into them as the more people that look at them, the better chance we have of getting them identified.

Thanks again.

Rick

Rick Jones D-ABMDI
Coroner Investigator
Latent Fingerprint Examiner
Clark County Office of the Coroner/Medical Examiner
1704 Pinto Lane
Las Vegas, Nevada 89106
Office # (702) 455-3210
Direct # (702) 455-4271
Fax # (702) 455-3101
E-mail: rnj@co.clark.nv.us​

Dang - I thought this was a positive match!
 
After thinking about the response a bit, I got to wondering why a 14 year old girl's fingerprints would be on file. I have followed up asking if the investigator knows if she's in CODIS. I think that would be a better source - if available.
 
I have contacted the coroner's office for a third time concerning this possible match. The investigator told me Deborah had been ruled out by a fingerprint check. I still find it difficult to believe they had Deborah's fingerprints on file. She was only 14 and her case is reported as a non-family abduction. How many teenagers have a full set of dentures???? She went missing in '74 and the UID was found in '79. I fear there may be some issues regarding DNA availability. But I will keep trying! Feel free to jump in -the squeakiest wheel gets the oil!
 
Maybe she had a minor criminal record, maybe she was fingerprinted at school which was a popular thing to do in the 70's/80's or maybe they lifted prints from her personal belongings. Its not so far fetched to have a young person's prints on file.
 
Well, I've heard back from the Clark County coroner investigator again - in record time I might add! I sent him another message last night explaining that I wasn't confident about the fingerprints check when Deborah was only 14. He was kind enough to pull and review the records once again and discovered that, in fact, Deborah's fingerprints were never on file. However, he did find her mother on the Internet some time ago, as he was also convinced this was a probable match. They do have DNA from both Deborah and the UID and there isn't a match. Still not convinced, he had Deborah's mother look at the UID photos, jewelry and clothing and she has advised that this Jane Doe is definitely not her daughter. :mad:

I told the investigator that we will continue searching to help bring Deborah and Jane Doe back to their families. I am so relieved and proud to know that the Clark County Coroner's office is as dedicated as we are. The same cannot be said for all US counties! On we go.....
 
or another - she was born exactly 5 years before me to the day:eek:
 
Originally posted by: Fairy1, moved here for discussion...

http://www.accessclarkcounty.com/depts/coroner/unidentified/Pages/unid_indv_79-0968.aspx
Unidentified Caucasian Female
Discovered in Las Vegas, NV.
Date Found: 08/14/1979
Cause of death : Homicide
If you have any information on this case, please contact:
Clark County Office of the Coroner/Medical Examiner (CCOCME), (702) 455-6649
CoronerUnidentified@co.clark.nv.us
All information may be submitted on an anonymous basis.
Please refer to this number when contacting us with information.
Clark County Case Number:
# 79-0968
 
I was ABSOLUTELY sure this was a match, but sadly, it was not. The ME investigator I was working with in Clark County double and triple checked to make sure for me. Deborah was only 14 when she went missing, yet they were telling me she was ruled out by fingerprints! I asked them why a 14-old-child who was never in any trouble would have fingerprints on file and that's when they went back for another look. Yet she had a full set of dentures at 14!!!

Anyhoo, just wanted ya'll to know I already submitted this one:

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Wow Fairy, that sure looked like a match to me. Glad you had them triple check it. I thought dentures were traceable? Also wouldn't dentists in the area the JD was found, assuming of course she was from around there, remember making dentures for someone so young?
I just went back and reread the info for the two. She went missing in '74 but the JD was found in '79. That is the only thing that doesn't fit. But the dentures-man! what are the odds...
 
ilovemew said:
Wow Fairy, that sure looked like a match to me. Glad you had them triple check it. I thought dentures were traceable? Also wouldn't dentists in the area the JD was found, assuming of course she was from around there, remember making dentures for someone so young?
I just went back and reread the info for the two. She went missing in '74 but the JD was found in '79. That is the only thing that doesn't fit. But the dentures-man! what are the odds...
Click to expand...

I know, right?!?!? How many 14 year olds have a full set of dentures? Now, Deborah went missing in '74 at the age of 14. The UID was found in '79 and estimated between 17 - 21. So it really does all fit. Gosh, I'm STILL second guessing. May nag them some more. I can't find the original e-mail from the ME investigator, but IIRC, he mentioned that Deborah's Mom was involved and that they did have her DNA on file.
 
In part, this was the response from the Clark County ME's office - after I got a bit naggy:

I checked the Internet and found Debora's mother, Diane Meyer and I called her. She was aware of the possible link to our missing person but was also told that the DNA did not match. She indicated that she and the missing person’s father submitted DNA samples. She further related that she did not have any fingerprints on her daughter. The dentist that handled her daughter’s dentures has since passed away and all of his records were destroyed. She described a growth on the decedent’s left ear on the flap. Our decedent did not have a growth. She had not been show the postmortem photos of our decedent or the jewelry that she was wearing when she was found. She agreed to view a postmortem photographs of our decedent. She looked at the photo's along with some other photo's we have of her and she is sure, our decedent was not her missing daughter even though her daughter would have aged 5 years from the time she went missing until we found our unidentified person. At this stage, we have gone as far as we can on Deborah and our unidentified. We will never stop searching.


So.....guess I'll give it a rest. But jeez!
 
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