FL FL - Manatee Co., WhtFem UP1265, 11-20, drowned on the edge of Sarasota Bay, Apr'83

[Romulus]

Doe Network:
Case File 488UFFL

Reconstruction of Victim

Unidentified White Female

• The victim was discovered on April 9, 1983 in Manatee County, Florida
• Estimated Date of Death: 2-7 days prior to discovery
• Advanced State of Decomposition
• Undetermined cause of death.

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Vital Statistics

• Estimated age: 14 - 18 /11 - 20 years old
• Approximate Height and Weight: 5'4"; 100-110 lbs.
• Distinguishing Characteristics: Dark brown, shoulder length hair. No scars, tattoos or previous injuries. Pierced ears. Small breasts.
• Dentals: Natural teeth, with crowding of the upper and lower teeth, most prominent anteriorly. No fillings in place, but the first molars on the right and left in the lower jaw both had cavitary defects which were smooth-walled, deep and slightly discolored brown-black. The wisdom teeth were not erupted.
• Clothing: None located.

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Case History
The victim was located drowned on the edge of Sarasota Bay, ten feet off Tidy Island, in the Cortez area, on April 9, 1983.
She was found in about a foot of water. Foul play has not been ruled out.

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Investigators
If you have any information about this case please contact:
Manatee County Sheriff's Office
Lieutenant Anthony Williams
941-747-3011 extension 2515
Or
Medical Examiner District 12
David Winterhalter
941-361-6909
You may remain anonymous when submitting information.
LE Case Number:
83-5799
MD Case Number:
MA-83-46
NCIC Number:
N/A
Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.
Source Information:
I Care
FLUIDDB

Namus

https://identifyus.org/en/cases/1265

Doe Network

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/488uffl.html

 

[Al Ka]

Heartbreaking.

I want to point out that her NamUs was updated last year. Her height is slightly taller than on Doe Net, 5'6", and postmortem interval is listed approx 1 day.

 

[Al Ka]

Her front teeth were crowded and noticeably crooked. No clothes or jewelry were found

http://www.missingkids.com/poster/NCMU/1184245

March 7, 2009

Investigators spent Thursday and Friday at the New Memphis Cemetery, Manatee County’s burial ground for the indigent deceased, searching for Plot 244.

“We were unsuccessful in locating the body of Jane Doe,”

According to the Herald archives, construction workers noticed the woman’s body floating face down about 30 yards offshore in Sarasota Bay.

By the time deputies arrived, the body of the woman, thought to be in her teens or early 20s, had floated to shore.

Even though there was a red gash on her head, the medical examiner believed the death was accidental. Nonetheless, until there is a positive identification, Johnson, who has been with the sheriff’s office since 1971, said the case will be treated as suspicious.

http://www.bradenton.com/latest-news/article34067742.html

 

[Danaya]

I can't find any rule outs for her on her NAMUS page, unless I am missing something?

The only female I can find with brown hair, under 20, who went missing in 1983 from Florida prior to this Doe's discovery is Darlene Anne Webb. However, it sounds like Darlene was abducted and foul play was involved and this Doe supposedly died accidentally. If this Doe went out for a swim and drowned in an accident, surely she would have been missed and reported missing-she was a child. I wonder if this was actually foul play.

 

[Sleuthster]

Even though the height is off and differs according to this thread, and the time line is a year later, I hope they compare Wendy Huggy.

 

[Al Ka]

Even though the height is off and differs according to this thread, and the time line is a year later, I hope they compare Wendy Huggy.

I wish I remembered where I read it yesterday, that Wendy was actually first one to be compared and they had been quite disappointed it was not her. It was also mentioned that she could be Mexican or Native American.

 

[Sleuthster]

I didn't see any rule outs on the doe's namus file. Hmmm I'll have to go back and look.

 

[Al Ka]

Ok, I have found where I read it

But after several hours of comparing Wendy Huggy's dental charts to the
murder victim's skull and mouth, four forensic dentists said the decay and
bone loss were too different.

http://www.******************/forum...d-teeth-sarasota-bay-florida-april-1983.2184/ - posted by Akoya- titled - Who was buried here? posted 06/22/01

That thread is dedicated to our UID however on 2nd look I think person posted that article by mistake there as Wendy is compared to different UID -

At 1:50 p.m. on Sept. 5, 1982, the crew of the fishing boat Smithsonian
radioed a report to the Coast Guard: They had found a body floating in the
Gulf.

According to a sheriff's report, the body was "wrapped in a green bedspread
and a beige, brown and orange afghan."

A white rope had been looped around the woman's chest and waist, and was
tied to a single concrete block.

 

[Romulus]

Porchlight link

http://z10.invisionfree.com/usedtobedoe/index.php?showtopic=51124

Unidentified.wikia link

http://unidentified.wikia.com/wiki/Manatee_County_Jane_Doe

 

[folieadeuxnola]

One of the discussions that came up last night on Websleuths Radio is that not all rule outs make it to NAMUS. Comparisons are completed on UID's however the information is not relayed to NAMUS for update.

Like you Sleuthster hope one day Wendy is found she comes up on so many UID's

 

[folieadeuxnola]

Ok, I have found where I read it


http://www.******************/forum...d-teeth-sarasota-bay-florida-april-1983.2184/ - posted by Akoya- titled - Who was buried here? posted 06/22/01

That thread is dedicated to our UID however on 2nd look I think person posted that article by mistake there as Wendy is compared to different UID -

That does not sound like an accidental drowning

 

[CarlK90245]

Ok, I have found where I read it

But after several hours of comparing Wendy Huggy's dental charts to the
murder victim's skull and mouth, four forensic dentists said the decay and
bone loss were too different.

http://www.******************/forum...d-teeth-sarasota-bay-florida-april-1983.2184/ - posted by Akoya- titled - Who was buried here? posted 06/22/01

That thread is dedicated to our UID however on 2nd look I think person posted that article by mistake there as Wendy is compared to different UID -

At 1:50 p.m. on Sept. 5, 1982, the crew of the fishing boat Smithsonian
radioed a report to the Coast Guard: They had found a body floating in the
Gulf.

According to a sheriff's report, the body was "wrapped in a green bedspread
and a beige, brown and orange afghan."

A white rope had been looped around the woman's chest and waist, and was
tied to a single concrete block.

That Jane Doe was ID'd in 2011 as Amy Hurst from Michigan.

 

[Romulus]

From crimewatchers site forum

 

[theshadow45]

Bumping for Tidy Island Jane Doe. Her death does not sound like an accidental drowning to me.

 

[Moosebegoose]

The one person I found that looked like this doe went missing over a month later. Fingers crossed we will find her!

 

[theshadow45]

Does anyone else think maybe Oba Chandler on this one?

 

[theshadow45]

Tidy Island Jane Doe has been unidentified 35 years today.

 

[coffeeandacig]

Sorry that I hadn't heard of Tidy Island Jane Doe until today.
She could have been a drug runner from the islands. Sarasota/Bradenton/Venice inlets were littered with drop off/ pick up points for the coke and other drug cartels back in the 80s and Tidy Island didn't have any condos back then that I recall. You could walk a beach in the area and not run into anyone or anything...except big wrapped packages of drugs.

 

[theshadow45]

Tidy Island Jane Doe has been unidentified for 37 years today.

 

[BigKeyManatee]

Sorry that I hadn't heard of Tidy Island Jane Doe until today.
She could have been a drug runner from the islands. Sarasota/Bradenton/Venice inlets were littered with drop off/ pick up points for the coke and other drug cartels back in the 80s and Tidy Island didn't have any condos back then that I recall. You could walk a beach in the area and not run into anyone or anything...except big wrapped packages of drugs.

I also was curious about how developed the Longboat Pass area was in 1983. I found a 1984 aerial survey photo accessed from from the Manatee County website. I’ve provided a link to their site. I hope that it is allowed, I inserted a screen capture of the relevant section of the survey. Please remove if not, but I also added a screenshot from today’s Google Maps for purposes of comparison.

Manatee County GIS Mobile Server
Back in the early 1980’s Tidy Island had only have a fraction of the residences that it has today. Difficult to see in the low resolution B/W photo, but it looks like there were only a few larger homes located on the S side of the island, near to where the private road leads to the mainland.
I also wanted to compare the amount of development present on the mainland, specifically along the western shoreline and the areas near Cortez Road. It was reported that the UID’s body was recovered from about a foot of water from the side where Tidy Island faces Cortez. I am speculating that this indicates that she was taken from the shallow water near the NE corner of the island.
Surprisingly, there was already considerable shoreline development present on the mainland by 1984, appearing then almost as dense as what can be seen today.
If I was hoping for some kind of clue from the old photograph to indicate where this child’s body might possibly have entered the water, I’ve come up empty.

This case is new to me as well, and I can’t stop thinking about the indignities that this lost girl suffered both in life and after death. It looks like I’ll be taking a deep dive here, fueled as usual by speculation and melancholy.
Not sure when I’ll post next but I will close now with a bonus link.
It will take you to a 1983 article about the history of Tidy Island. The story and photos made me highly nostalgic for the “Old Florida” that I knew from my childhood during the 1960’s and 70’s. For me it wasn’t just stumbling across illicit packages along empty beaches (!), but also what this article describes, exploring sandy hammocks to find shell middens and excavated burial sites of long vanished native tribes. What I would give to have that unspoiled Florida back again. Enjoy.
https://www.tidyisland.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Bradenton-Herald-Article-on-Tidy-Island.pdf